USS Calzona: The Continuing Stories
by fluffycalzonafics
Summary: Join Callie and Arizona as they navigate the ups and downs of family life on the Federation Starbase Seattle. Life on the outskirts of Federation territory comes with its challenges, but Callie and Arizona wouldn't change a thing.
1. Author's Note, Timeline, and Guide

**USS Calzona: The Continuing Stories**

**Author's Note and Timeline**

* * *

Hi Everyone! This story is the continuation of my first story, USS Calzona. Unlike USS Calzona, The Continuing Stories will not be posted in chronological order. This story is going to have a non-linear storyline. I'll be jumping around the timeline.

To make things easier on you, I'm going to include a timeline here, which I will periodically update. Hopefully, this will help you keep things straight.

If you ever have something you'd especially like to see, send me a PM and let me know! I can't promise that I'll include your idea as I have long term plans for this story. But I'll definitely take your requests into consideration :)

I'm also going to include a list of characters after the timeline. DO NOT READ THIS IF YOU DO NOT WANT SPOILERS. This is going to be a story about Callie, Arizona, and their lives. They're obviously going to have kids, and if you read the list of characters, you're going to know how many! Plus eventually I'm going to add the names of others who get married and have kids.

Thanks in advance for reading my story!

* * *

**Timeline of Events**

**2480-2481**

USS Calzona

**2481-2482**

Blue Eyes and Dimples

**2484**

Joanne

**2489**

Strange Noises

**2490**

Not the Best Night

**2499**

Destiny

* * *

**Cast of Characters**

Robbins Torres Family

Calliope Iphegenia Torres, born 2448

Arizona Brooke Torres (née Robbins), born 2451

Daniel Timothy Robbins Torres, son of Callie and Arizona, born 2482

Caitlin Aria Robbins Torres, daughter of Callie and Arizona, born 2483

Jackson James "JJ" Robbins Torres, son of Callie and Arizona, born 2484

Torres Family

Carlos and Lucia Torres, Callie's parents

Aria Aurelia Santos (née Torres), Callie's sister, born 2445

Michael Victor Santos, Aria's husband, born 2443

Gavin Michael Santos, son of Aria and Michael, born 2469

Troy Emmanuel Santos, son of Aria and Michael, born 2472

Hailey Alexis Santos, daughter of Aria and Michael, born 2475

Arizona Calliope "Phoenix" Santos, daughter of Aria and Michael, born 2481

Robbins Family

Admirals Daniel and Barbara Robbins, Arizona's parents

Timothy Andrew Robbins, Arizona's brother, deceased. 2449-2480.

Grey-Sloan Family

Mark Sloan, born 2448

Lexie Grey, born 2458

Mason Grey-Sloan, son of Mark and Lexie, born 2484


	2. Blue Eyes and Dimples

**Summary: Captain Callie Torres and her wife, Commander Arizona Robbins, take the first steps towards creating their new family and their new life aboard the Federation Starbase _Seattle_.**

* * *

Commander Arizona Robbins held tightly to her wife's hand as they walked anxiously into the medical center of the Federation Starbase _Seattle._ Just about three months had passed since she and Callie had gotten married, and they'd been living in a relatively blissful existence. Callie had been promoted to Captain, and Callie had in turn promoted Arizona to Commander. She hadn't promoted her simply because she was her wife, but because Arizona deserved the promotion. No one who knew anything about the two women would think otherwise. Arizona's temper aside, they were both outstanding officers.

Things on the station were going well. Callie's diplomatic personnel had their hands full with all sorts of new species that Admiral Johnson's expeditionary fleet had encountered, and the _Seattle_'s research departments were making plenty of technological and scientific discoveries. Arizona's parents, Admirals Daniel and Barbara Robbins, were busy making preparations for the new Starfleet Academy campus to be opened in the Aurora Colony. The colony itself was continuing to grow rapidly, and was quickly becoming known as the place to be for people seeking new opportunities in the Federation.

Things were also going fairly well in the Robbins and Torres families. Michael and Aria had surprised everyone by announcing that they were expecting another daughter later in the year. Callie was getting along better with her in-laws, and Arizona's parents and Callie's parents were slowly learning to tolerate each other. Callie and Arizona hoped that by the time they had their own child, their parents would be well on the way to becoming friends.

Which brought them to the medical wing that day. They were ready to bring that child into being.

"Captain Torres, Commander Robbins," Nurse April Kepner smiled in greeting. "What brings you here today?"

"We have an appointment with Dr. Sloan," Callie said calmly, squeezing Arizona's hand. Arizona glanced at her wife. She still marveled at Callie's ability to hide her nerves. She _knew_ Callie was anxious, but her countenance was entirely serene.

"Okay, yep," Nurse Kepner replied, confirming their appointment on her screen. "It says here that you can just meet him in his office. Would you like me to show you where it is?"

"No, that won't be necessary," Callie replied. "I know where his office is."

"Okay, great," Kepner replied. "Have a great day, Captain, Commander."

"Thanks, April," Arizona said quietly as Callie led her down the hallway to Mark's office. Her stomach had already been in knots all morning, but her anxiety seemed to increase exponentially as they approached the chief medical officer's door and Callie pressed the door chime.

"Enter!" Arizona heard Mark call as the door slid open. Callie gave Arizona a reassuring smile and squeezed her hand before leading her into Mark's expansive office.

"Hey guys!" Mark smiled, standing from his desk and moving towards a couch and several armchairs. "Come in, come in. Have a seat." Callie and Arizona grabbed a seat next to each other on the couch while Mark grabbed a PADD and sat in an armchair. "So you guys wanna get pregnant, huh?" he said with a cheeky grin.

"That would be correct, Uncle Mark," Callie said with a huge smile on her face. Arizona turned to grin at her wife. Callie wasn't even pregnant yet, but she was already glowing.

"Uncle Mark, huh?" the greying doctor said. "I think I like the sound of that."

"You do know that the title of 'Uncle' comes with babysitting duties, right?" Arizona chimed in.

"Oh please," Mark brushed off Arizona's teasing. "Have you _met_ your mother-in-law? There's no way in hell I'll ever get a chance to babysit. I wouldn't be surprised if she just kidnaps your poor kid altogether."

Arizona and Callie chuckled in agreement and accepted the waters that Mark held out to them.

"So," he asked. "Who's carrying?"

"I am," Callie responded. She turned to smile at Arizona. Arizona wanted to carry at least _one_ of their children in the future, but she'd had absolutely no problem allowing Callie the honor of going first. Arizona was very much looking forward to being a parent, but she was definitely the more anxious of the two soon-to-be mothers. Callie disagreed with Arizona's conclusion, but Arizona thought Callie was more of a natural when it came to kids.

"Okay," Mark nodded, entering some data into his PADD. "You guys know how this works?"

"Well it's been a while since high school biology for both of us…" Arizona cringed.

Mark just laughed as he turned to address Arizona. "You have no idea how many times I've heard that. Basically, I'll take an egg out of Callie here, and then I'll take a sample of your DNA. It's a simple procedure to bioengineer your DNA into something capable of fertilizing an egg. And it'll have all of your genetic material, so the kid will be biologically both of yours."

Arizona nodded and squeezed Callie's hand. Sounded good so far.

"Okay, so…" Mark paused, to hold up a medical tricorder and some kind of medical instrument. He looked at Callie. "May I? It won't hurt."

"Oh, um," Callie exclaimed. "Sure."

"K," Mark smiled, kneeling in front of Callie and pressing the instrument up to her abdomen. "Okay," he said after a moment. "Got the egg." He placed the instrument back on his desk and picked up a different one. "I'm just gonna press this to your neck, Arizona," he said as he approached her. "You won't feel anything." Arizona nodded and allowed Mark to take a DNA sample.

"Okay," he said, setting that instrument down as well and returning to his chair. "I'll alter Arizona's DNA later today and you guys can come back tomorrow to get knocked up." Arizona rolled her eyes at Mark's crude description, but then smiled at the man. Over the past year or so that she'd known him, he'd become a good friend.

"Do you guys want to specify a gender?" he asked, ready to enter more data into his PADD.

"No," Arizona shook her head. "We want it to be random."

"Okay," Mark nodded. "Any cosmetic changes that you'd like to make?"

"No." "Yes." came Arizona's and Callie's simultaneous replies.

"What?" Arizona asked, turning to look at Callie in surprise. She couldn't believe Callie would have an opinion on their child's appearance.

"Arizona," Callie said defensively. "In all likelihood, my features are going to dominate yours. Our kids are gonna have dark hair and dark skin and…"

"So what?" Arizona asked. "You think I care about that? I'll love our kids no matter what they look like. And I'd love it if they're all mini-Calliopes."

"But _I'd_ love it if they're mini-Arizonas." Callie said, her puppy dog eyes and pout coming out in full force.

"Callie, no!" Arizona argued. "We're not pre-determining what our kids look like. No way."

"I'm not talking anything drastic like their height or build or boob size," Callie said defensively. "I just…I just want to force his or her eyes blue. I want our baby to have your eyes. That's all."

"Calliope," Arizona sighed. She loved that Callie loved her eyes. And she knew that there was a very low probability that their child would have blue eyes. But she felt really uncomfortable with _designing_ her kid. She felt that her child should come out just the way he or she was naturally.

"Okay," Mark held his hands up to stop their conversation. "Why don't you two take the rest of the day to decide on this. I can change something as simple as eye color very quickly before we implant tomorrow."

* * *

Callie listened patiently as Arizona explained why she was against determining their child's gender or cosmetic features. She already knew everything Arizona was going to say—Arizona's opinion was a very common one—but Callie still felt like she owed it to her wife to listen.

For most of her life, Arizona's opinion had been Callie's opinion. But as they'd gotten closer to having a child, Callie had taken samples of their DNA and had the computer run simulations of what their children could look like. And they all looked like Callie. Sure, plenty of them had Arizona's build, Arizona's facial structure. But they were all tan, with black or brown hair, and brown eyes. Just like Callie. And Aria. And Carlos, Lucia, Michael, Gavin, Troy, and Hailey. The Torres genes were simply dominant. And Callie was mostly fine with that. She loved the way she looked. She and Aria had always attracted lots of attention for their looks, and Aria's children were some of the most beautiful children she'd ever seen. She was proud of her Latina heritage.

But she also loved the way Arizona looked. She loved Arizona's pale skin. Her golden hair, beautiful blue eyes, and heart-stopping dimples. It saddened Callie to know that some of the features she loved most about Arizona were unlikely to ever manifest themselves in their children. And, knowing Arizona's opinion and that she'd be reluctant to accept _any_ cosmetic alterations, Callie had just picked one thing. One thing that she loved about Arizona that she was going to push for. Arizona's eyes.

"Arizona," she said quietly once Arizona had finished her piece. "I completely understand everything you just said. And honestly,I _agree_ with you."

"Well if you agree with me," her wife replied, "then why did you ask Mark to change our baby's eyes?"

Callie took a deep breath and reached for Arizona's hand. "Sweetheart, look at me." Arizona complied with Callie's request and looked deeply into her wife's chocolate eyes. "You love me."

"I do," Arizona smiled.

"And you love the way I look. You think I'm beautiful."

"Absolutely."

"And it makes you happy to know that our child is going look a lot like me."

"Mm hmm," Arizona nodded.

"So," Callie paused. "Can you understand why I want our child to look like _you_?"

"Callie," Arizona sighed. "It just wouldn't be natural _at all_ for our kid to have light skin, blonde hair, and blue eyes. You're Latina!"

"I know, I know," Callie said defensively. "Which is why I'm not pushing for that." She paused. "I just…I would just love it if our baby had your eyes. It's not genetically _impossible_, it's just unlikely. And it would mean the world to me."

"But Callie, where does it stop? Where's the line? Sure, we'll make this baby's eyes blue. But what about the next kid? Are we going to force it to be a certain gender? Make it taller? Ensure that it has a promising career as a supermodel?"

"No, Arizona," Callie sighed. "No. I, I promise that this will be it. We can leave the other kids alone. We won't change their gender, we won't make any cosmetic changes. Their eyes can all be brown. I won't even ask you to let me give them dimples. Just give me this one baby with blue eyes, and I'll never ask for anything else. I promise."

Arizona sat quietly for a moment, considering. Callie squeezed her hands, continuing to look at her pleadingly. Finally, Arizona leaned back into the couch and released a sigh.

"This really means that much to you?" she said, flashing her eyes back towards Callie.

"Yes," Callie replied simply.

"And you promise that this would be the only time?"

"I promise," Callie said adamantly, a smile starting to creep onto her face. Was Arizona really going to say yes?

Arizona looked into Callie's eyes for a few more moments, still considering. "Okay," she said quietly.

"Okay?" Callie asked excitedly. She could hardly believe her ears.

"Okay."

* * *

"So did you ladies decide on if you wanted any cosmetic modifications?" Mark asked. Callie and Arizona were back in Mark's office the following day to have the egg implanted.

"Yep," Callie said with a huge grin. "Make our baby's eyes blue! The exact shade of Arizona's."

Mark raised an eyebrow and looked at Arizona. "This alright with you, Blondie?"

Arizona nodded. She still wasn't wild about the thought, but Callie wanted it _so_ badly, and Arizona didn't have the heart to tell her no. And she supposed that changing a baby's eye color wasn't the biggest deal in the world.

"Mmk," Mark said with a nod as he bent over a machine on his desk and put the finishing touches on the fertilized egg. "Okay," he said, rising from the desk a few minutes later. "You all set?"

Callie smiled and reached for Arizona's hand. Their eyes immediately met and Arizona was sure that she'd never been more in love with Calliope Torres than at that moment. Callie was about to be pregnant. With _her_ child. "We're ready," Callie said.

"Alright," Mark smiled, walking over to Callie, a medical instrument in his hands. "Here goes nothing." Arizona smiled as she watched Mark press the instrument to Callie's abdomen, placing the fertilized egg in her wife's uterus. "Okay," he said after a moment, standing up and taking a few steps away from the two women. "Congratulations, you're pregnant."

Callie let out a squeal and threw her arms around Arizona. Arizona wrapped her arms around Callie and pulled her wife closer. "I love you so much, Calliope," Arizona murmured to her wife, placing her hand where the medical instrument had just been. "And I love our baby." Callie simply kissed her in response.

"So uh," Mark said after they'd had a few moments of celebration. "Would you like to see your kid?"

A huge grin broke out across both Callie's and Arizona's faces. This was the part of the appointment they were most excited about.

"Yeah," Arizona nodded. "We want to see him or her at four years old."

"Okay," Mark said with a huge smile. "I'll give you guys some privacy." He'd sworn Callie to secrecy (so she'd naturally told Arizona), but his favorite part of his job wasn't the badass surgeries or the medical research. It was helping couples get pregnant. Seeing the joy on their faces. "Computer, as soon as I leave the room, display a holographic projection of the Robbins-Torres child, age 4."

As soon as Mark left and the computer executed its command, Arizona's heart caught in her throat and Callie had to drop her hands to the couch to keep her balance.

"Arizona!" Callie gasped in love and amazement. "Arizona! He has your dimples, too!"

But Arizona didn't hear her wife. She was transfixed, frozen in wonder, as she stared at the holographic image in front of her. Before her stood a beautiful—no, a _perfect_—little boy. He was on the tall side for a four-year-old, was a little scrawny-looking (likely resulting from a recent growth spurt in height), and had Callie's caramel skin. His hair was a handsome medium to dark brown, and he had Callie's mouth and nose. But his eyes, his dimples, and his chin were all Arizona. He was the most beautiful thing Arizona had ever seen. She didn't know how it was possible, but she'd never loved anything more.

* * *

"So," Aria said with a smile. "Did you ever think we'd be pregnant at the same time?"

Callie let out a tired laugh. "Not in a million years."

Callie and her sister were reclining on their parents' couch. They'd just experienced what had to be the most epic baby shower of all time—both of Lucia's daughters were pregnant, so she had thrown them a dual baby shower. Callie and Aria were now convinced that their mother could die a happy woman. All of her wildest dreams had come true.

"Yeah, well I think Mama's more excited than either of us."

Callie chuckled at her sister's comment. "You can say that again."

Aria smiled as she put her sore feet up on the coffee table and took another sip of her lemonade. It was a little early to be having a baby shower for Callie—she was just about a month past the half-way mark of her pregnancy. But Aria was scheduled to deliver her daughter in two weeks, and Lucia had wanted so desperately to have a double baby shower. So Callie didn't mind having it early. Heck, she and Arizona had broken down and decorated the nursery only two weeks into the pregnancy.

"So have you decided on a name yet?" Callie asked. "It's getting really, _really_ close, Aria."

"Well actually," Aria said, suddenly looking nervous. "Michael and I had something we wanted to talk to you and Arizona about."

"Yeah?" Callie asked, immediately searching the room for her wife. Daniel and Barbara were talking with Michael and Gavin, Troy was reading a book, and Hailey was entertaining Carlos with a story she'd learned at school. All the other guests had departed a few minutes ago. Arizona was nowhere to be seen, but Callie soon heard her wife's laugh drifting down the hallway from the kitchen. Callie smiled to herself, figuring that Arizona was helping Lucia with clean-up. She still didn't understand why Arizona was such good friends with her mother, but she just went with it, figuring it was a good thing. "You wanna talk to us about names?"

"Yeah," Aria nodded.

"Well do you want me to go get her?" Callie asked, starting to get up. She was getting bigger, but she wasn't big enough yet that movement was a problem.

"No, no," Aria said, stopping Callie from getting up. "Just um, could you guys maybe stop by tonight? After the kids have gone to sleep?"

"Sure," Callie replied slowly, confused. She really didn't know why she and Arizona had to have a private conversation with Aria and her husband about their daughter's name.

* * *

"I honestly don't know, Arizona," Callie said as they walked to the Santos's quarters. "She wouldn't tell me. But it almost sounded like she wanted to ask our permission or something."

"But why would they need our permission?" Arizona scrunched her face in confusion. "It's _their_ daughter. They can name her whatever they want."

Callie shrugged. "I don't know. I guess we're about to find out."

"Mmk," Arizona said as she opened the door to Aria's family's quarters and followed her pregnant wife inside. _Her pregnant wife_. It had been five and a half months since Callie had become pregnant, but Arizona still wasn't tired of saying that. She loved saying that. Callie was beginning to be annoyed at the size of her growing belly, was beginning to feel fat and unattractive. But Arizona thought she looked perfect. Beautiful. That bump wasn't fat or unattractive. That bump was housing their baby, their son. That bump was the most gorgeous thing in the universe.

"Hey guys," Michael greeted the women as soon as they were inside. "Can I get you anything? Aria just made me make homemade brownies, and they're pretty freaking good, if I do say so myself."

"Oooh, that sounds _amazing!_" Callie gushed.

"I think I'll just have some water, thanks, Michael," Arizona replied.

"One 'crazy pregnant lady brownie' and one water, coming right up."

"So what's this all about?" Callie asked once her brownie was polished off and she and Arizona were seated on a couch opposite Aria and Michael.

"Well," Aria said, reaching for Michael's hand. "We have something that we're thinking of naming our daughter, but…" she trailed off, looking directly at Arizona. "Well we wanted to run it by you first."

Arizona raised her eyebrows, confused. Why would Aria and Michael need to run a baby name by _her_?

"We'd um," Michael continued where Aria left off. "We'd like to name our daughter Arizona Calliope Santos. But we'd like her to go by a nickname full-time. We want to call her Phoenix."

Arizona swallowed hard. Several emotions were swirling in her mind at once. Joy and honor at the fact that Aria and Michael wanted to name their daughter after her, after her wife. A sudden flash of sorrow at the name Phoenix, the nickname Tim had called her by for all of her life. Arizona felt Callie squeezing her hand, and when she looked over at her wife and Callie was blurry, she realized that she had tears in her eyes.

"We know that Tim used to call you Phoenix, so if it's too much…" Aria said.

"In a way, we think it honors Tim's memory as well, but we also don't want our daughter's name to cause you any pain. We're not trying to throw Tim in your face," Michael added.

"No, no," Arizona shook her face and quickly dried her eyes. "No, it's—it's beautiful. I, I would be absolutely honored for you to call your daughter that." Arizona continued to wipe her face dry as Callie scooted over on the couch and wrapped an arm around her waist.

"And your parents?" Aria asked.

"My parents won't mind," Arizona replied quickly. She really had no idea _how_ her parents would react, but she didn't care. She loved the name. She loved how welcomed she was in Callie's family. Callie's sister was going to name her _daughter_ after her. So her parents would just have to deal with it if they didn't like it.

"Okay," Aria said with a huge smile. "You're sure?"

Arizona nodded. "Thank you, Aria, Michael. Naming your daughter after me and Callie? That's just…we just love you guys so much."

* * *

"Hi little one," Callie cooed. "I'm your Auntie Callie." Callie sat on her sister's couch, with her brand new niece in her arms and her wife nestled into her side. Life was good.

Baby Phoenix had been delivered about an hour earlier, and now the entire family was gathered at the Santos's quarters to celebrate. Not wanting to break from tradition, Callie had been present at the birth of her sister's fourth child. And this time, Arizona had been there as well. Arizona Calliope "Phoenix" Santos was a healthy eight pounds, two ounces, and she had a full head of black hair and sleepy brown eyes. To Callie, and everyone else who had seen Hailey as a baby, Phoenix was the spitting image of her older sister. This made Hailey excessively proud.

"Okay, my turn," Arizona said after a few moments, holding her arms out to take the infant. Callie shifted slightly and placed the baby girl in her wife's waiting arms.

"Phoenix," Callie said with a smile. "This is your Auntie Arizona. You're named after her."

Callie's heart warmed as the infant settled into Arizona's arms. It was the first time she'd ever seen Arizona holding a baby and…and she hadn't been prepared for the swell of emotions the sight would bring. Callie didn't know why Arizona couldn't see it, but she thought her wife was a natural with children. And watching Arizona hold her new niece was proof enough. She was holding the child perfectly, and had automatically started to hum softly, comforting the child back to sleep. Callie couldn't stop a smile from spreading across her face. The sight of Arizona holding a baby was perfect. Arizona had never looked more stunning. Callie simply couldn't wait until it was their own son that Arizona was holding.

* * *

Arizona smiled as she cuddled Callie later that night. It had been an incredible day—she'd seen a life being brought into the world. She'd held a baby that was just an hour old. A baby that was named in her honor. A baby that she'd get to see grow up, a baby that she'd get to help raise. A baby that would very likely be best friends with her very own son. Her son that was currently safe and sound inside the belly of the woman she held in her arms.

Callie was the larger of the two women, so she was usually the outside spoon when they slept. But because of Callie's ever-expanding stomach, they had switched places. Now Arizona got to drift off to sleep each night with Callie in her arms, and she couldn't be happier about it. She loved holding Callie. She loved waking up to the smell of Callie's hair, to the feeling of Callie's pregnant belly in her hands. Arizona thought Callie was suited to pregnancy. As far as she was concerned, her wife looked absolutely fantastic.

"So have you thought about any names?" Callie asked sleepily.

Arizona paused for a moment. Of course she'd thought about names. She had plenty of options that she liked. One in particular that she really liked. But she also had an opinion on their child's _last_ name, and she was worried that Callie would object.

"Yeah, I have," Arizona answered.

"And?"

"Well I think we should decide on what we want to do about a last name first," Arizona said, trying to keep any traces of nervousness out of her voice.

"What do you mean?" Callie asked, turning to face Arizona and scrunching her face in confusion. "Won't we just hyphenate?"

"I kinda hate hyphenated last names," Arizona replied. "Can you imagine being referred to all the time as Captain Robbins-Torres? Doesn't exactly roll off the tongue."

"Well then, what?" Callie said. "You want them to just go by Robbins?"

Arizona smirked to herself. Callie looked less than enthused about the idea. "No," Arizona started. "I want them to go by Torres. Robbins can be a second middle name."

"Why my last name instead of yours?"

"Because Arizona Torres sounds way better than Callie Robbins."

Callie's eyes widened. "You…you want to take my last name?"

Arizona bit her lip nervously and nodded. "Yeah. I mean, it would get confusing in Command if we had the same last name, so I should probably keep Robbins professionally. But legally? Personally? I'd love to be a Torres." When Callie just stared at her and didn't reply, Arizona hastily added, "if…if that's okay with you."

"Of course it's okay with me," Callie said, giving Arizona a look like she was crazy. "I'm just…surprised. What about your parents? Aren't they going to be miffed about our children not carrying on the Robbins legacy?"

"Well," Arizona sighed. "That's kind of _why_ I don't want them to be Robbins's. I don't want them growing up with the kind of pressure that Tim and I had. I don't want them to feel forced to go into Starfleet. And besides, I have cousins that can make their kids join Starfleet. It's not like the entire future of the Robbins family rests on my shoulders."

"Still," Callie said hesitantly. "Won't your parents feel like we're…disrespecting them somehow? I mean, I know they liked the fact that Phoenix is named after you and Tim, but…well it's not quite the same because it's not _their_ grandchild."

"Well…" Arizona trailed off. This was the other part she was nervous to talk to Callie about. She wanted to name their son after her father. He was difficult, but she loved him. And naming her son after him would go a long way in helping him to get over a non-hyphenated last name. Arizona was pretty sure that Callie liked Daniel well enough, but she was also sure that Carlos and Lucia Torres would _not_ understand. They were civil towards Arizona's parents, but they certainly didn't like them.

"I um…" Arizona continued. She was nervous, but she had to spit it out eventually. "I was thinking maybe we could name him after my father. I mean, I know he's not your favorite person in the world, but—"

"I like the name Daniel," Callie said, reaching out to stroke Arizona's hair. "We could call him Danny?"

"You'd be okay with that?"

"Yeah," Callie smiled.

"What about your parents?"

Callie shrugged. "They'll get over it."

"And um," Arizona continued. "I was thinking, for his middle name, maybe we could name him after Timothy?"

"Daniel Timothy Robbins Torres," Callie stated out loud.

"Yeah," Arizona breathed out. That was what she wanted. That was the name that had been resounding in her head for months. That was the name she'd been too nervous to suggest to Callie.

"Danny Torres. Son of Callie and Arizona Torres."

"Yeah."

"Sounds perfect."

* * *

Arizona sat anxiously on the stool in the sterile operating room. She'd been in this very room just a few months prior for the delivery of her gorgeous little niece, but this was entirely different. This time, it was Callie, not Aria, lying on the table. And the child about to come into the world wasn't her niece. It was her son. Her entire life was about to change. Their little family of two was about to become a family of three. She wasn't going to be responsible for just herself anymore. There was going to be a beautiful—and helpless—baby boy depending on her.

"You ready for this?" she asked her wife.

"I don't think being ready matters at this point," Callie replied. "He's gonna be here in less than ten minutes."

"You guys are gonna do just fine," Aria chimed in from her chair in the corner. "Seriously. This is the easy part."

Arizona massaged Callie's hand and looked down at her wife. She couldn't believe all that had happened in the past couple of years. She'd met the love of her life just over two years ago. They'd celebrated their first anniversary just a few weeks ago. And now they were having a baby. Just over two years ago she'd been alone, staring a new posting, anxious to see where life would take her. And now she had a wife. A family. A home. She'd never expected it, she'd never seen it coming. Life was funny that way.

"Alright," Mark said, entering the room, adorned in his surgical gear. "You guys ready to become mommies?"

Arizona took a deep breath and scooted her stool closer to Callie. It was a simple procedure—she had nothing to worry about. Mark would open Callie up, deliver the baby, and make Callie good as new. They'd be walking out of sick-bay in 45 minutes tops. So Arizona really had nothing to be nervous about.

Except for the fact that they'd walked into sick-bay as a married couple, and they'd be walking out of sick-bay as a married couple with their first child in their arms. Arizona definitely felt like she was allowed to be nervous about that.

Arizona held Callie's left hand, and Aria held Callie's right hand, as Mark got started behind the curtain.

"Okay, I'm about to make the cut," Mark narrated. "You won't feel anything."

Arizona closed her eyes as Mark continued to work. She didn't like the idea of anybody cutting into Callie's body for any reason—it made her feel sick to her stomach. But as quickly as Arizona shut her eyes, she opened them again. There was a sound of a baby crying. _Her_ baby crying.

"Okay, baby's out," Mark said as he handed the boy to Kepner and set to work on cleaning Callie up. Arizona's eyes followed April Kepner as she quickly scanned her son with a medical tricorder and another nurse wiped him clean.

And then April was walking over to her and placing her son in her arms. "He's perfectly healthy," April said quietly, before she returned to Mark's side.

Arizona was dumbfounded as she held the baby boy. She'd heard his heartbeat, she'd seen video footage of him inside of Callie, and she'd felt him kicking. She thought she'd be prepared for holding him for the first time. But she wasn't. This was unlike anything she'd ever experienced before. She was holding her own flesh and blood. She was holding a _combination_ of Callie and herself. She was holding her _son_. Her _child_.

Arizona blinked and swallowed. Her mouth felt dry and her knees felt weak. She was holding her son. And she was hopelessly in love with him already.

Daniel Timothy Robbins Torres hadn't opened his eyes yet, but she knew they were blue. His caramel skin was all wrinkly, and he had a modest amount of brown hair. And he was perfect. Just _perfect_.

Arizona blinked back a few tears as she was finally able to look away from her son and towards her wife. Callie was beaming. She was radiant. She had tears in her eyes as well.

"You wanna hold him?" Arizona managed to croak out.

"Uh huh," Callie shook her head up and down.

"Okay," Arizona smiled, gently laying her newborn son in her wife's arms. Callie gasped softly as she, too, got to hold her son for the very first time.

"Oh, Arizona," she sighed after a few moments. "He's perfect."

"Yeah."

"I love you so much," Callie said. Arizona wasn't sure whether that statement was directed to her or to her son, but it didn't really matter. Arizona knew that Callie loved both of them. "Arizona?"

"Hmm?"

"We have a son."

"Yeah."

Callie's eyes finally met Arizona's again. "Thank you," she whispered.

Arizona smiled and reached out to stroke Callie's hair, to place a hand on her newborn son's head. "For what?" she asked. Callie was the one lying on the table. She'd been the one dealing with pregnancy for the last nine months. She didn't know what Callie was thanking _her_ for. Arizona should be thanking _Callie_.

"For our son. For loving me. For marrying me. For raising this baby with me."

"You're welcome, Calliope," Arizona said, leaning forward to place a kiss on Callie's forehead. "There's no one I'd rather do this with. Thank you for bringing our baby into the world. He's perfect. Just like you."


	3. Joanne

**Joanne**

**Summary: A frustrated Arizona storms out on Callie…and comes dangerously close to slipping into old habits.**

**AN: Okay guys. My work is piling up and I'm really not going to be able to work on this for at least a week and half. So here's what I did...I wrote two updates today. I was thinking about uploading them separately and spaced out, but I figured that you'd rather just have them all at once. Just please don't get mad at me if I don't update for a while after this! I'll post the next one right after I post this one.**

**AN2: I made a twitter a while ago...just to keep track of the Grey's actors who are on there. Feel free to talk to me there if you want to. I'm FluffyCalzona on twitter.**

* * *

It wasn't possible for Arizona to slam the door to her quarters—it was an automatic, sliding door. But if she _could_ have slammed it, she would have. Hard. She'd just about had enough. Work had been an absolute nightmare, and then she'd come home to three cranky children and an even crankier wife. It seemed as though Callie was on her for everything these days; she couldn't do anything right. They'd just had a massive fight about dinner or bath time or—Arizona honestly didn't know what they were fighting about anymore. All she knew is that she needed to get out of their quarters and pour alcohol down her throat.

Arizona let out a frustrated groan as she directed the turbolift to the Promenade. She knew that this was normal. This was to be expected. She and Callie had very high-power, very high-stress jobs. What they did on a daily basis had ramifications for thousands of people living on the station and the colony below. And their work also affected the Federation as a whole. It was a big responsibility. And it was a responsibility that didn't mix easily with having three children aged two and under.

So Arizona knew that she and Callie just had to get through this season. Things would get better. Their bickering wasn't a symptom of serious marital issues. It was just a result of the two of them being exhausted. Of the two of them having no alone time as a couple. No intimacy. No sex.

Arizona grumbled to herself as she exited the turbolift and headed for Joe's. She'd gone without sex for three months now, and she was horny as hell. When Arizona had been pregnant with Caitlin, she'd had no body image issues. She and Callie had had a healthy sex life throughout the entire pregnancy, and Arizona had been ready for sex almost immediately after Caitlin had been born. But Callie was different. Both times that Callie had been pregnant, she'd struggled with feelings of being fat, being unattractive. She'd had trouble letting Arizona touch her, and it had taken her longer after delivery to be ready for intimacy again. And while Callie had been ready at this point after delivering Danny, everything had been harder with JJ. JJ was almost two months old, and Callie still wouldn't let Arizona anywhere near her.

As Arizona closed in on her and Callie's "relaxed" bar of choice, Arizona caught sight of the Pleasure Palace, the strip club that Tim had wanted to take her to for her first birthday on the station. Arizona swallowed as she considered it. She'd still never been inside. She could feel the bass pumping out of the club, could see the flashing lights promising a good time. Arizona knew that just inside, there would be an incredible view of naked women. Beautiful women who would sit her down, shake their asses and breasts in her face, and make her feel alive again. And if she paid just a little bit more, one of those women would take her to a private room in the back, would lay her down on a bed, would let her hands roam wherever they pleased, and would pleasure her until she saw stars. They wouldn't tell her no because they were too tired, or they'd just had a baby, or they felt fat. They'd only tell her yes.

Arizona felt her legs change direction. Instead of continuing to Joe's, her legs were now steering her towards the strip club. Towards a better form of escape than alcohol. Instead of drowning her sorrows in booze, she could drown them in the firm breasts of a woman.

And it wasn't _really_ cheating, was it? It's not like it was real. The strippers were all holograms. They weren't actually _people_. It couldn't be considered cheating if Arizona was the only actual person involved. Arizona kept telling herself that as she neared the club. It wasn't really cheating. Arizona just needed a little something to take the edge off. And Callie would never find out.

Arizona's heart was pounding as she entered the strip club. The bouncer looked her over, but made no motions to stop her from entering. She gave him a tight smile as she walked past him and headed further into the club. Further towards what she wanted, what she needed.

And then she caught her first glimpse of one of the dancers. A half-naked Trill who was busy entertaining a young Bajoran man. And Arizona felt something stab her right in the gut.

_I take you, Calliope, to be my wife._

_Today, I pledge myself to you. I promise to stand by your side in happy times and in challenging times._

_I promise to be faithful to you, to always honor you, and to place your needs ahead of my own._

Arizona closed her eyes and turned away from the dancer. Whether this was actually cheating was still a murky issue. But she sure as hell wasn't standing by Callie's side. This wasn't placing Callie's needs ahead of her own. This wasn't honoring Calliope, or giving her the loyalty and respect she deserved as her wife.

Arizona sighed to herself as she exited the club and resumed her previous course to Joe's. She'd just have to be horny. Alcohol would have to be her only escape for the night.

* * *

"Daddy?" Callie sobbed as soon as her father appeared on the viewscreen.

"Calliope, what's wrong?" he asked, concern etched on his face.

"Arizona walked out, and I can't get JJ to stop crying, and Danny and Cait are—"

"We'll be right there, mija," her father replied before the transmission abruptly ended.

Callie sank back into the couch and shifted the wailing infant in her arms. Her wife was AWOL, she was covered in baby puke, and she was spent. Just absolutely spent.

And she knew that Arizona's absence was just as much her fault as it was Arizona's. Callie was exhausted and moody, and she'd been taking it all out on her wife. Arizona had been trying to be patient, had been silently taking Callie's unreasonable criticism, had been doing her best to help deal with their three fussy children. But then Callie had started to yell at Arizona because Caitlin had made a mess of the bathroom, and her long-suffering wife had just snapped. Had thrown her hands up in frustration, had announced she was going to Joe's, and had stormed out of their home.

"Mama, Mama!" Danny was screaming at the door, still distraught over his other mother's abrupt absence. Caitlin was sobbing in her playpen, unhappy that Callie had just stuck her in there because Callie didn't have enough hands to let her wander free. And JJ was in Callie's arms, crying in hunger, but stubbornly refusing to latch onto Callie's breasts.

Callie sighed in relief when both of her parents strolled through the door, Carlos immediately scooping up Danny and Lucia making a beeline for Caitlin in the playpen. They were here to rescue her. They'd know exactly what to do.

Carlos got to work bathing Danny and Caitlin and putting them to bed, while Lucia took JJ and fed him a warm bottle of Callie's breast milk. Callie took the opportunity to change out of her puke-covered shirt, and she returned to a calm living room. The only sound was that of Lucia humming calmly to her grandson.

"Thank you," Callie sighed as she flopped herself onto the couch next to her mother. She leaned back and closed her eyes.

"It's our pleasure, mija," Lucia said quietly. "You know you can call us anytime."

Callie nodded, not bothering to lift her head or open her eyes. She occasionally heard happy bath time noises from Danny and Caitlin, but otherwise the house was completely silent.

"Are you and Arizona alright?" Lucia asked after a few minutes.

Callie just shrugged. "I honestly don't know, Mama. I don't think I'm doing a very good job of keeping her happy."

"Well walking out of your home and leaving you to deal with three fussy children isn't exactly going to make _you_ happy, dear."

"I was yelling at her, Mama. I was being unreasonable. I get it. Plus she's been frustrated with me in general."

"Why's that?" Lucia asked politely.

Callie sighed. She wasn't used to talking to her mother about personal things. Callie had always had an easier time opening up emotionally to her father. But Lucia was the model grandparent, and she'd done nothing but support Callie for her entire life. Maybe opening up to her mother wouldn't be such as bad idea.

"She…I…" Callie started. "We haven't exactly been…intimate lately."

Lucia nodded gently. Callie looked at her and didn't see any judgment in her eyes—just understanding.

"I just…don't feel attractive enough," Callie continued. "I'm afraid she'll be disgusted by me."

"Calliope," Lucia said. "Arizona loves you. She could never be disgusted by you."

"I know, but…"

"I struggled with the same thing when you and Aria were born."

"You did?" Callie raised her eyebrows. Her mother was perfect—naturally thin like Aria. Not big boned and curvy like Callie. She couldn't imagine Lucia being self-conscious.

"I did," Lucia nodded.

"And how did you deal with it?"

"I realized that I was being selfish."

"Mama—" Callie started to object. If Lucia was going to be understanding and comforting, that was one thing. But she didn't need her mother telling her she was selfish.

"Sweetheart," Lucia continued. "You are her wife. You're her only legitimate sexual outlet. And she loves you. You know Arizona better than I do—she isn't expecting you to be a supermodel. She knows that you just had a baby—you just had _her_ baby. She isn't expecting your body to be perfect." Lucia paused for a moment to allow her words to sink in. "Calliope, she just wants to be close to you. To show you how much she loves you."

Callie leaned back again and sighed. Deep down, she knew that Lucia was right—Arizona would love her just the way she was. But she still couldn't shake her insecurities.

"And Callie," Lucia spoke again after a moment. "If you aren't ready for everything, there are other things you can do. Take a bath with each other. Let her hold you. Or, or, even if you can't let her touch you, you could at least touch _her_."

"Mama, I've offered to get her off, but she won't let me! She keeps insisting that she doesn't want it to be one-sided, that she doesn't want to do it until she can return the favor!"

"Well, that's admirable of her, Callie, but it's also stupid."

* * *

Arizona sighed as she nursed her drink. She was in a lonely booth at the back of Joe's bar, and she was just about ready to go home. Just about ready to return to her quarters and face her angry wife. Her angry wife who was probably even angrier because Arizona had stormed out and still hadn't returned after an hour and a half.

Arizona was still working up the courage to go home. She felt guilty. Guilty for not being able to keep Callie happy. Guilty for not being a good enough mother. For leaving Callie to handle the kids. For being disloyal to Callie by going into a strip club, if only for a moment. She felt like a failure. A bad wife. A bad mom.

"Arizona?"

A strangely familiar voice called her out of her thoughts. She turned her head to follow the voice, and when she found its owner, she did a double take. _Joanne_. Joanne Summers.

"Joanne?" Arizona asked, surprised and happy to see her old friend. The two had dated for four months at the academy, before Joanne had broken it off due to Arizona's inability to be monogamous. But they'd remained friends throughout the rest of their schooling, had loosely kept in touch over the years, and usually had a crazy hot fling whenever they ran into each other.

"Hey!" Joanne said excitedly, pulling Arizona out of the booth and into a hug.

"What are you doing here?" Arizona asked as she slid back into the booth, motioning for Joanne to take the seat across from her.

"Oh I left my posting on the Hastings. You're looking at the new chief flight instructor for the Starfleet Academy Aurora Campus."

"No way!" Arizona gushed. "Congratulations!"

"Thank you!"

"Why didn't you tell me you were coming out here?" Arizona didn't know why, but seeing Joanne again had dramatically brightened her mood. Maybe this was what she needed. Just a good old friend to talk to.

"I didn't know you were stationed here," Joanne replied. "We've kinda fallen out of touch the past few years."

"Yeah," Arizona agreed. "It's been crazy. But I'm first officer here."

"Seriously?"

"Yup," Arizona said proudly.

Joanne started to wiggle her eyebrows.

"What?" Arizona giggled.

"Isn't Callie Torres the commanding officer of this station? You know, the girl you were _obsessed_ with at the academy?"

Arizona blushed. She didn't love being reminded of how ridiculous she used to be about Callie. "Uh, yeah," she nodded. "She is."

Joanne smiled darkly. "So have you nailed her yet? She was the one girl you could never get your slutty little hands on."

Arizona took a sip of her drink. "Uh, yeah, you could say that."

"And was she everything you dreamed she'd be? Did you reduce her to a helpless pile of mush? Panting and screaming your name? Begging you for mercy like you always wanted?"

Arizona took another sip of her drink. The Arizona that Joanne knew and loved was…a different Arizona. A younger Arizona. An Arizona who didn't know the meaning of love, an Arizona that didn't understand the emotional ramifications of sex. The Arizona that Joanne knew would have stayed in the strip club earlier that evening. But the Arizona currently sitting across from Joanne in Joe's _had_ left the strip club. This Arizona loved her wife. This Arizona was committed. Faithful.

"Arizona?" Joanne repeated when Arizona remained silent for a moment too long.

"Joanne, I um," Arizona paused, not knowing quite how to say it. "I'm married to Callie Torres. We have three children."

Joanne immediately started choking on her drink, and Arizona quickly motioned for Joe to bring them a glass of water.

"You _married_ her?" Joanne croaked out, finally able to catch her breath.

"Uh huh," Arizona smiled, amused at Joanne's reaction.

"And you have _kids_?"

"Yeah."

Joanne paused to look at Arizona incredulously. "Does she know that you've slept with half the Alpha Quadrant?!"

"She um," Arizona nodded. "She knows about my past, Joanne."

"And she _trusts_ you?" Joanne balked at the idea. "Or is this one of those open marriages?"

"Jo, I've…I've changed," Arizona shrugged.

"So you really haven't slept with anyone else since you married her?"

"I haven't slept with anyone else since I _met_ her."

Joanne just smiled and shook her head. "So I guess I'm not getting any hot sex from you tonight, am I?"

Arizona giggled in response. "Not likely."

"Arizona Robbins has been tamed and domesticated," Joanne said, sitting back in disbelief. "Never thought I'd see the day."

Arizona smiled at her old friend. "It's actually Arizona Torres."

* * *

Callie walked nervously towards Joe's. Her parents really were lifesavers. Danny, Caitlin, and JJ were all fast asleep and Lucia had shooed Callie out of the quarters, assuring her that she and Carlos would hold down the fort.

"Go find your wife," Lucia had insisted. "Have a drink. Whisper dirty things in her ear."

So here she was, closing in on the bar. She didn't know what to expect. Arizona had been _pissed_ when she'd left earlier that evening. And she'd been gone for almost two hours. She didn't know if Arizona would be still stewing…or if Arizona would be too drunk to maintain a coherent thought.

But whatever Callie had been expecting, she certainly hadn't expected to see her gorgeous, blonde-haired wife chatting up a supermodel. Callie stopped short, just inside the bar, and stared at Arizona's booth. Arizona was laughing and giggling in a way that Callie hadn't seen in weeks. And the woman seated across from her was jaw-dropping. She had to be at least 5'10". Her long, toned legs looked incredible in high heels. Her hair and makeup were perfect, and her low-cut dress showed off a gorgeous expanse of cleavage. Callie swallowed as she looked at the woman. She was everything that Callie wasn't. Maybe once, Callie had looked half as good as her, but now? Callie felt unattractive and dumpy and…inadequate.

Callie knew the mature thing would just be to trust her wife. To not feel these waves of insecurity surging within her. To go right up to the table and introduce herself to whomever Arizona's friend was. But Callie found herself walking to a table close enough to Arizona to be able to hear their conversation, but in a spot where neither Arizona nor her companion would notice Callie.

"Well Daniel just turned two, Caitlin just turned one, and Jackson's two months," Callie heard her wife saying. "We call Jackson 'JJ' most of the time."

"Aww, that's cute," the mystery woman said. Callie found herself making a face. She didn't like this other woman's voice. She sounded fake.

"Yeah, they're…they're amazing," Arizona continued. "I really love them, Jo."

_Jo_. Callie quickly scanned through her mind, trying to recall if Arizona had ever mentioned a friend named Jo. She didn't think she had.

"Can I meet them?" the woman asked. "Would that be weird?"

Callie sensed her wife hesitate before answering. "Um, well yeah, I'm sure you can sometime. I mean you're going to be around a lot."

Callie raised an eyebrow. This Jo woman was going to be around a lot? Why? Was she Starfleet? Had she been assigned to the station? Callie felt her fists clenching. Had _Arizona requested_ that she be assigned to the station?

"So why you here, anyways?" Jo continued. "Shouldn't you be at home with your wife and three kids, instead of drinking alone at some random bar?"

_Good question_, Callie thought to herself. Even though she understood that Arizona was frustrated, she was still mad at her wife for storming out.

"Callie and I…" Arizona paused. "Well, we were fighting, and I kinda just…left."

"Arizona Robbins storming out in a rage? Wow, I've never experienced _that_ before," the woman said in a teasing voice. Callie considered this as she sipped her drink. If this woman knew about Arizona's temper issues, then she probably wasn't a new acquaintance. Arizona didn't let her temper flare around just _anyone_.

"Of course," Jo continued, "I'm really surprised to see you _here_ instead of at that strip club down the way. Whenever you used to get pissed, going out and angrily banging some random chick was your only coping mechanism."

"Joanne…" Callie heard her wife protest. A light when on in Callie's head. Arizona had talked about a Joanne. They'd dated when Arizona was at the academy.

"Well if you're up for it," Joanne continued, "I'd happily be your coping mechanism for the evening. You always did make me come harder than anyone else could."

Callie felt her body go on high alert as she held her breath. This supermodel had just offered to sleep with her wife. Joanne knew Arizona was married, knew Arizona wasn't available, and didn't care. Callie felt an insane amount of jealously boil up within her. This woman wanted to sleep with _her wife_.

"Joanne…" Arizona said again.

"Oh come on, Zona," Joanne said casually. "We've already slept together tons of times, so it won't even really count. It'll just help you blow off a little steam."

"Joanne, I'm _married_!"

"And you're been married for how many years now?"

"Three years."

"Exactly. You're been married for three _years_. Arizona, you are _not_ a monogamous person. When we were together, you couldn't keep your hands off of another woman for three _days_. Callie cannot seriously be expecting you to not be having any fun on the side…"

"Yes, she can," Arizona argued. "Joanne, I love her, okay? I, I know that I used to live for the conquest, but…I don't anymore. I live for Calliope. I live for our babies."

Callie closed her eyes and felt herself relax as she heard Arizona describing her feelings. Callie still felt like charging across the bar and throttling this Joanne woman, violently teaching her that Arizona's body belonged to _her_. But hearing Arizona easily turn her former lover down was…comforting. Callie knew how sexually frustrated her wife was, but Arizona had still turned down careless, casual sex with another woman. An absolutely _gorgeous_ woman.

Callie sent one last glance toward her wife's table before quietly slipping from the bar. She'd heard what she needed to hear, and she was now content to go home, trust Arizona, and wait. Wait for her wife to come home when she was ready.

* * *

"Hey," Arizona said softly as she entered the bedroom that she shared with Callie. The house was quiet, and Callie was resting in bed, a PADD propped up on her knees. Callie looked up from what she was reading and looked at Arizona. Arizona was relieved when she didn't find a trace of anger in Callie's big brown eyes.

"I um," Arizona said quietly, stepping closer to the bed. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have stormed out like that. It wasn't fair to you at all."

Callie nodded. "I forgive you, Arizona. Just…please don't do that again. I had to call my parents to come rescue me."

Arizona cringed. That meant that Carlos and Lucia knew she'd bailed. They knew that she'd failed their daughter.

"And," Callie continued. "And I'm sorry for yelling at you. I…I wasn't being fair to you, either. Can you forgive me, too?"

"Of course," Arizona replied, removing her sweater and gingerly sliding into bed next to her wife. "I love you, Calliope," she said, kissing Callie's cheek.

"I love you, too."

Arizona took a deep breath as she reached over to grab Callie's hand. She'd been debating with herself about whether she needed to fill Callie in on the events of the night. She dreaded Callie's reaction, and a part of her felt like it would better to not say anything, because nothing had technically happened. But a little voice inside of her was nagging at her—was telling her that she owed her wife complete and total honesty. So she squeezed Callie's hand and screwed up her courage. _Here goes nothing_.

"Callie, I um…" she started. "I need to tell you about some things that happened tonight." Arizona watched as Callie put the PADD on her bedside table and turned to face Arizona, giving her her full attention.

"On my way to Joe's, I…" Arizona hung her head in shame. This was hard to say. She felt so guilty, so ashamed of her disloyalty. "I, I…I stopped at the strip club."

Arizona couldn't lift her head to look at Callie, but she heard a small gasp fall from Callie's lips, and that was enough for Arizona to feel a thousand daggers stabbing her heart.

"I, I stayed for about two seconds. I caught a glimpse of one of the dancers, and all I could think about was you. Our wedding vows. How beautiful you are. How much I love you. And I…Callie, I am so, _so_ sorry."

It was quiet for a moment before Arizona felt Callie lifting her chin. There was hurt in Callie's brown eyes, but also love. Also understanding.

"You didn't stay?" Callie asked, her voice small.

Arizona shook her head.

"And you didn't see anything?"

"I've seen more just watching PG-13 movies with you."

"Okay," Callie said, nodding. "You left right away?"

"I left right away."

"But you did go inside."

"Yes."

"Why?"

Arizona felt her insides being torn apart. Callie's voice was so small.

"I, I don't know," Arizona shrugged. She honestly didn't. "It was there, just…calling to me. And I was angry, and tired, and lonely, and…and _frustrated_. But I was wrong, Callie. I was so, so wrong, and I am so, so sorry. Can you ever forgive me?"

"Arizona," Callie said, sighing and turning to lie on her back. "If you'd stayed…I don't know how I'd feel. But…to me it doesn't sound like you were unfaithful. I mean, we all have fleeting moments of curiosity, of lust for someone that we shouldn't. We're all tempted, Arizona." Callie turned back on her side. "But you said no. You realized what you were about to do, and you said no. You chose me. Arizona, that's…that's all I can ask of you."

Arizona took a moment to look into Callie's eyes. She marveled at how loving Callie was, how forgiving and understanding Callie was. Arizona knew that she hadn't actually _done_ anything. But she'd been raised to be better than she'd been tonight. And she still felt ashamed of being anything less than loyal to Callie. Even if it was only for two seconds.

Callie reached out a hand to caress Arizona's cheek. "Don't do it again," Callie said. "Unless you go with me," she said in a surprisingly teasing voice. "Cuz that's kinda hot." Arizona raised a surprised eyebrow at her wife, not quite believing Callie was actually going _there_ in such a serious moment. After giving Arizona another teasing smile, Callie's face again became serious. "But I forgive you, Arizona. Thank you for being honest with me. And thank you for being faithful to me."

"Thank you!" Arizona sobbed, scooting closer to Callie and throwing her arms around her. Callie had been reluctant to accept any form of physical affection since JJ's birth, so Arizona was overjoyed when Callie pulled her closer, and didn't push her away. It felt so good to be in her wife's arms again. "I love you so much," Arizona murmured.

"I love you too," Callie hummed. "I'm sorry I've been bad at showing it."

"You haven't, Callie," Arizona said. "It's okay, I understand. I am fine waiting until whenever you're ready. Even though I think you look absolutely beautiful exactly the way you are."

"No, no," Callie said, sitting up and starting to remove her clothing. "I had a talk with my mom, and…well, we can have sex. It's okay."

"Your mom talked you into having sex with me?" Arizona asked. She didn't know if she should be thanking Lucia Torres or be feeling massively creeped out.

"Just go with it, Arizona," Callie said, rolling on top of Arizona and starting to kiss her neck. Arizona just about passed out from the pleasure of feeling Callie on top of her again. Callie was teasing her breasts, pressing a thigh against her pulsing center. Arizona's eyes rolled back in her head. She'd been waiting so long for this.

"Wait, Callie, wait," Arizona said, finally working up enough self-control to cease Callie's ministrations. Even though she'd been 100 percent appropriate with Joanne, she still felt like she needed to tell Callie about running into her ex, about Joanne's…proposition.

Callie looked at her curiously. "What?"

"There's just one other thing I need to tell you about."

Callie raised her eyebrows.

"But I promise this time I did nothing wrong. I just need to tell you."

"Okay…" Callie said, rolling off of Arizona and resuming her previous posture.

"So I ran into one of my exes tonight…"


	4. Strange Noises

**Strange Noises**

**Summary: JJ is troubled when he believes one of his mothers is abusive.**

**AN: You don't really have to read them in order...but I just posted another one, so don't miss it!**

* * *

Captain Callie Torres had a certain bounce in her step as she left Command. In general, Carlos and Lucia Torres picked the kids up from school and watched them until Callie and Arizona got off work. But each Friday, Callie or Arizona would head out of Command early to pick up just one of the kids for a little one-on-one mommy time. Today was Callie and JJ's turn, and Callie was excited to see her little man.

Callie's youngest son had just turned five years old, and he'd been obsessed with starships and pilots ever since seeing footage of his mother's performance as a member of Nova Squadron. Arizona sometimes rolled her eyes at her son's new hero-worship of Callie—Arizona maintained that the real talent was in piloting capital starships, not little stunt fighters. But they both indulged him now and then by taking him down to the docks to watch the ships coming in, or by replicating little model starships for him.

Today, though, Callie was planning on giving him the time of his life. Callie still had the little stunt vessel that she'd flown in Nova Squadron so many years ago. She took it out for a joy ride every now and then—she'd even banged Arizona in it once or twice—but she'd never taken any of her children out in it. So Callie's plan for the afternoon was to pick JJ up from school, head down to the docks, and then take him for a spin. And maybe—just maybe—she'd allow him to handle the controls for a little bit. So long as he promised not to tell his mama.

His mama—Callie's wife—was a puzzle when it came to stunt fighters. Arizona's training was as a pilot, but she expressed a strong preference for capital ships—the larger the better. She'd hit the big time when she'd taken the conn. on the Enterprise, the Federation's flagship. But Callie had always assumed that Arizona's dislike of stunt fighters was that she couldn't fly them. After all, _Callie_ was the one who had set records in Nova Squadron. But not long into their marriage, the two had been arguing about it, and Callie had challenged her wife to a friendly competition.

And Arizona had wiped the floor with her. Callie was one of the best stunt pilots the Academy had ever seen—but that was because Arizona had never put her own skills on display. Arizona was _obscenely_ good. Callie had gone back and looked at the flight records after they had finished, and Arizona's ability was good enough to be a professional stunt fighter. Better, in fact. Arizona, in just a friendly competition, had posted better stats than the winner of the previous year's professional championship. Arizona could have been a household name if she had wanted it. When Callie had questioned her about it, Arizona had brushed her off, just saying that she didn't enjoy it enough to make a career of it.

Callie, however, thought it was insane for Arizona to ignore a talent like that. And as soon as JJ had expressed an interest in stunt fighters, Callie had encouraged it. Taught him all about it. Shown him footage of her flying, taken him to see competitions. If JJ had inherited any of his mama's skill, any of Arizona's incredible reflexes, then perhaps Callie would have an ace pilot for a son someday. It was in his blood, that was for sure.

"JJ!" Callie called out to her boy when she saw him playing at the school playground with Mason, Mark and Lexie's son, and JJ's best friend. She smiled and waved at him when he turned to look at her, but was confused when an angry look crossed his face and he started heading in the opposite direction. "JJ," Callie said more quietly, not really intending for her son to hear her. Why hadn't he come to her? Why was he angry? He'd been all smiles when she and Arizona had dropped him off that morning.

"Captain Torres?"

Callie turned to see Heather Brooks, JJ's teacher, looking at her and beckoning her inside JJ's classroom. She did _not_ look happy. Callie swallowed hard and she followed the young woman inside. Was JJ in trouble? What had he done? He was usually a very well behaved little boy, and he'd never been in trouble before at school.

"Please have a seat," Heather said, gesturing to a chair across from her desk. This was an unusual situation for Callie—she was used to being the one behind the desk; the one in control. Callie felt very unnerved. "Captain Torres," Heather said sternly. "I need to talk to you about JJ's situation at home. Some things have come to light that are quite concerning."

"Umm…okay," Callie blinked. Everything was fine at home as far as she knew.

"Today we had someone from the security office in to talk to the children about domestic abuse."

Callie's eyes widened. JJ—none of her children—had ever been abused or even exposed to abuse. "Heather, there's got to be some misunderstanding," she started. "My wife and I would never hurt our children." Heck, she and Arizona didn't even spank their children. Callie thought a few well deserved spankings were a far cry from child abuse, but Arizona had won that particular marital argument.

"No, Captain Torres," Heather shook her head. "You misunderstood me."

Callie nodded her head, relief washing over her.

"After the presentation, JJ approached the security officer and expressed concern that you're physically abusive to your wife."

Callie's jaw dropped. "Excuse me?!"

* * *

Arizona walked as quickly as she could towards the primary school that her children attended. Callie had called her in a panic, frantically explaining that JJ refused to go home with her because he thought that Callie was abusing Arizona. Arizona's eyes had bulged out of her head. It made absolutely no sense. Callie would never, ever, _ever_ hurt her. Ever.

"Mama!" she heard her little boy call out as she approached the playground. She crouched just in time for him to run into her arms. She quickly scooped him up and settled him on her hip. He really was getting too big for Arizona to keep picking him up like that, but she couldn't find it in herself to stop. She and Callie had agreed to stop at three, so JJ was the last kid she'd ever have. She was determined to keep picking him up until it was physically impossible.

"Hey, baby boy," she cooed, running a hand through his shaggy dark brown hair and looking into his deep blue eyes. Unlike his older brother's, JJ's blue eyes were all natural. They were several shades darker than Arizona's eyes, but they were still blue. If Arizona didn't trust Callie more, she would have been certain that Callie went behind her back and made other genetic changes to their children. All three with Arizona's dimples? One with naturally blue eyes? Either the genetics gods were smiling on her wife, or there was a reason Mark Sloan always looked so mischievous around her children.

"What's all this about?" she asked her son softly, carrying him into the classroom.

"Commander Robbins, thank you for coming so soon," Heather Brooks, JJ's teacher, said, standing from where she sat behind her desk.

"Please," Arizona said, walking into the classroom and setting JJ down, "when I'm off duty, I prefer Mrs. Torres. Or Arizona." Arizona's eyes flashed to Callie, who was currently pacing across the room.

"Mrs. Torres, then," Heather nodded. "This," she said, indicating to a man standing near her desk, "is Shane Ross. He's our school's social worker."

"Mr. Ross," Arizona said politely, shaking the man's hand.

"Okay, why don't we all have a seat," Ross said. "There's no reason why we can't resolve this in a way that ushers some healing into your family."

Arizona had to stop herself from rolling her eyes. To Arizona, both Heather Brooks and Shane Ross looked like they were about 14 years old. And her family didn't need any healing.

"Come here, JJ," Arizona said softly, pulling the distraught little boy into her lap. As Callie sat down as well, Arizona shot her wife an empathetic smile. She had no idea why JJ would accuse Callie of being abusive, but she knew the very idea of it would be emotionally upsetting to her wife.

"Okay, JJ," Ross said with a smile. "You told a security officer earlier today that your uh," he paused as he looked down at his PADD. "That your mom," he indicated to Callie, "is hurting your mama?"

JJ nodded solemnly.

"JJ!" Callie burst out. "How could you even think that—"

"Captain Torres," Ross held up his hands to calm Arizona's wife. "Please let me handle this. It'll be much easier if we just calmly discuss everything."

Callie grumbled and crossed her arms over her chest, but was otherwise silent.

"Okay, JJ," Ross said, turning his attention back to the little boy. "I want you to know that this is a safe place. You just say what happened, and everything will be okay, alright?"

JJ nodded again.

"Okay," Ross said, settling into his chair and leaning towards JJ. "Have you ever seen your mom hitting or pushing your mama?"

JJ shook his head.

"So then how do you know that your mom is hurting her?"

"I heard her."

"You heard who, JJ?"

"Mama. Mama was crying out because Mom was hurting her."

Arizona looked from JJ, to her wife, and back. She had absolutely no idea what her son was talking about. Callie had never hurt her. But JJ was an honest kid. Yes, every kid lied now and then. But JJ was definitely the best of their three kids in that department—he was very honest.

"And when did you hear your mama crying, JJ?" Ross continued.

JJ shrugged. "Sometimes at night, I get thirsty, so I get up to get a glass of water. And when I walk past Mom and Mama's room, Mama sounds like Mom is hurting her. She moans and screams "Calliope" and says "please" like she's begging Mom to stop."

Arizona closed her eyes, swallowed hard, and felt herself blushing furiously. Callie frequently warned her that she needed to be quiet, that one of their children might hear them. But when Arizona was at Callie's mercy—when Callie was teasing her and pleasing her and worshiping her body—sometimes Arizona couldn't contain her groans. And sometimes she screamed. She'd always been on the noisy side of things when she was lost in the throes of passion. She'd always been an incredibly vocal lover.

Arizona kept her eyes tightly shut and grimaced when she heard Ross clearing his throat awkwardly. And even though she couldn't see Callie, she could feel the amusement rolling off of her wife. When she finally had enough courage to open her eyes, she saw that Brooks and Ross had extremely embarrassed looks on their faces, and that Callie was almost to the point of tears from trying not to laugh. Only JJ was still under the impression that his Mom as a wife beater.

Arizona turned to her wife for a little help, but the amused look on Callie's face said "Oh no, I warned you about this. This one is _all you_." Arizona sighed and pouted as she stood up, sat JJ down in her chair, and kneeled to face the little boy.

"Um, JJ…" Arizona began, not knowing where to start. "You um…you know how you really like ice cream?"

JJ nodded, a confused look on his face.

"And um…you know how sometimes, after you eat it, it makes your tummy feel really good, so you make a happy noise? Like, um… "mmm" or "yum"?"

JJ nodded again.

"Well," Arizona sighed. "What you've overheard at night…your mom wasn't hurting me, sweetheart. She was um…she was making me feel good."

JJ's eyes widened. "But…but you were so…_loud_."

Arizona felt her blush deepen when Callie let out a little snort. "Um, well uh," Arizona stuttered. "Your mom was making me feel really, really, _really_ good. And so I couldn't help being so loud. I'm sorry if I woke you."

JJ's eyes travelled to Callie for a second before returning to Arizona. "What ice cream flavor was she giving you?" he asked, eyes still wide. He apparently thought that his mothers were withholding some amazing, scream-inducing kind of ice cream from him and his siblings.

An embarrassed smile finally crept onto Arizona's face. She was still mortified, but an ice cream flavor capable of making her scream the way Callie did would be a wonder to behold.

"Sweetheart, the ice cream was just an example," Arizona explained. "She wasn't giving me any ice cream."

"Then what was she _doing_?" JJ asked. He still looked startled that there existed something in the world that could make his mama scream so loudly in ecstasy.

Arizona swallowed as she carefully considered her words. She may have inadvertently explained sex to Hailey when she was five years old, but the same thing was not going to happen with her own innocent little angel.

"JJ, honey, it's…we were doing something special that _adults_ do when they love each other."

Arizona couldn't tell, but JJ almost looked disappointed.

"So I can't do it?" he finally asked, looking sad. "That's not fair. I wanna feel really good, too."

"No sweetie," Arizona consoled her little boy. "You _can_ do it. Just…just not yet. But someday, when you've grown up into a dashing young man, you'll fall in love. And then you'll share it with that special someone. Okay? When the time is right, the man or woman that you fall in love with will make you feel just as good as your Mom makes me feel."

"Okay," JJ said, still not quite happy but accepting his mama's answer.

"Okay," Arizona sighed in relief, standing from where she'd been crouched in front of her son.

"Mama?" he asked, looking up at her.

"Yes, baby?"

"How come you don't make Mom feel good? I never hear her screaming."

"Oh she does, JJ," Callie chimed in, sending Arizona a wink. Arizona felt her blush returning in full force. "She makes me feel awesome. _I_ just know how to keep my mouth shut."


	5. Destiny

**Destiny**

**Summary: Callie and Arizona discuss their future as they begin what could be the most important chapter of their lives.**

* * *

Admiral Arizona Robbins stood on the bridge of Callie's personal cruiser, mesmerized by the sight in front of her.

_Earth_. She was finally looking at Earth with her own eyes.

It had been nearly twenty years. Twenty years since a young Lt. Commander Arizona Robbins, longing for glory and adventure, had boarded the ship that would take her to the barely operational _Seattle_. Twenty years since she'd met Commander Calliope Torres. Twenty years since she'd fallen in love with Commander Calliope Torres.

Arizona sighed in amazement as she continued to marvel at the gorgeous blue ball spinning in front of her. So much had happened in those twenty years. She'd started out fiercely independent, eager to make a name for herself, determined to show the Federation what a true Robbins had to offer. And though, over the years, she'd certainly achieved all of that, it didn't seem to matter. Far more important to Arizona was her wife. Her wife and their three hormone-filled teenagers that were both a challenge and a delight to parent.

"Starfleet Landing Control," came the voice of Arizona's fifteen-year-old son, who was currently manning the conn. She was so proud of JJ. He'd inherited his mom's adoration of stunt flying (and both of his mothers' talent for it), but he'd also shown an interest in flying larger, more sensible ships. Arizona had gotten him behind the conn. of some capital ships a few years prior, and he'd continued to learn more and more about them.

"Go ahead," a voice said over the comms.

"This is the _USS Arizona_," JJ said, his mama immediately rolling her eyes at the ridiculous name her wife had chosen. They'd had this ship for nearly seven years—ever since Callie had been elected to the Federation Council—but Arizona still got annoyed every time she heard the words "USS" and "Arizona" put together.

"I have the President-elect on board," JJ informed the landing control. "And I'm requesting landing permissions in Paris."

"Affirmative, _Arizona_," the voice on the comms replied. "You have clearance to land in Paris. And please extend our warmest greetings to Representative Torres. Earth is proud to have a human president once more."

"Thank you, Control," JJ said as he switched off the comms. "So uh, Mama?" he said, turning to face Arizona. "How exactly do I do this?"

Arizona smirked to herself as she walked up to her son and motioned for him to relinquish the conn. "Sorry, babe," she said to her pouting son as she settled into the pilot's chair. "Landing on Earth can be a little tricky because of all the traffic. You've gotta leave it to the pros." Arizona quickly laid in the approach Landing Control had sent them, and smirked again. She didn't have to be looking at JJ to know that he was rolling his eyes at her. She could _feel_ it. Came with being a mother.

"Oooh, Arizona's piloting the _Arizona_, I should take a holo-picture!"

"Oh shut up!" Arizona groaned, turning to send a playful glare at the gorgeous woman who had just entered the bridge, their sixteen-year-old daughter in tow. "I swear, Calliope, I don't know how I ever let you name this stupid ship after me."

"Umm, babe," Callie said, walking over and leaning against Arizona's armrest. "You didn't let me. I just did it. I outranked you at the time."

"Oh, it was a total technicality!" Arizona argued. "You shouldn't have outranked me—you were already on the Council! Just because Starfleet hadn't _technically_ placed you on political leave yet…"

Arizona's complaining was cut off by soft lips on hers. "Mmm," she smiled into the kiss.

"Moms…" complained JJ and Caitlin simultaneously. Callie and Arizona just chuckled at their children's embarrassment as they reluctantly pulled apart.

"So, that's it?" Caitlin asked, staring out the window.

Arizona turned to nod at her mini-Calliope. Sure, Caitlin had a slightly more petite build than Callie, and she boasted Arizona's dimples. But other than that, Caitlin was one hundred percent Callie—in both looks and disposition.

"That's it, baby girl," Arizona confirmed. "That's Earth."

"I still don't know how I feel about living on a planet," Caitlin said nervously. "I mean I've never even spent one night sleeping on anything but a station or a ship. What if…what if it's too quiet?"

"You know Cait," Callie said, placing a comforting hand on the young woman's shoulder. "They actually have systems that will replicate starship noises and vibrations for you when you sleep. A lot of people who grow up in space use them."

"Or else," Arizona supplied, "when you start at the Academy next year, you could always request to be assigned to one of the orbital dormitories."

"Yeah, I guess."

"Anyways," Arizona said as she broke through the atmosphere and started running through clouds. "Go find Danny and everyone else. We're about to land."

* * *

"So are you ready for tomorrow?" Arizona asked as she worked on taking her earrings out.

"I'm uh…" Callie shrugged. "I'm pretty sure they're gonna swear me in tomorrow whether I'm ready or not."

"Oh, well, that instills a lot of confidence," Arizona said sarcastically, switching over to the other ear. She jumped and let out a little yelp when Callie pinched her bottom on the way to the bathroom. "I mean, um, I'm sure that you'll go down in history as the finest president the Federation ever saw."

"Better," Callie said, grabbing a brush to comb out her medium-length black hair. It wasn't as long, thick, and silky as it used to be, but it still looked pretty nice. At least, her wife assured her that it still looked beautiful. Not that Arizona had the most objective opinion when it came to Callie.

"Seriously, though, Calliope," Arizona said, joining her in the bathroom. "You're going to be amazing. You are outstanding. And I love you."

"Mmm, thank you, sweetheart," Callie murmured, leaning in to steal a kiss. She still felt quite anxious about assuming the role of Federation President, but having Arizona at her side made things so much easier, so much less nerve-wracking.

Callie couldn't imagine what life would be without her wife's constant support. But that was because, for nearly the past twenty years, that's all she'd experienced—Arizona's strong, unwavering, and undying support. Callie knew that she probably wasn't the easiest person to be married to, or the easiest person to co-parent with, but Arizona had never complained, had never shown any signs of giving up. Callie's honorable, noble, and loyal wife had upheld all of her marriage vows, and had never failed to be Callie's safe place—Callie's refuge from all others. Callie couldn't have asked for a better partner, a better lover. Admiral Arizona Robbins—Mrs. Arizona Torres—was the most amazing woman in the universe. And Callie was so impossibly grateful that she got to call Arizona her wife.

"Feels weird to be back here," Arizona thought out loud as she tossed some pillows aside and turned down their bed. "I honestly wondered if I'd ever see Earth again."

"Yeah, me too," Callie sighed as she slid into the bed and wrapped her arm around Arizona's waist. "You think the kids will be okay?"

"Yeah," Arizona replied, gently nodding her head and snuggling back into Callie. "I know my parents have done a great job on Aurora, but nothing quite compares to the Earth campus. And with Cait starting next year and JJ the year after…"

"Not to mention that Danny really wanted to go to Princeton…"

"They'll be fine, Callie," Arizona said, shifting around to face her wife. "They're good kids. Sure, it'll be an adjustment. But they'll thrive."

"I hope so," Callie murmured. During the long journey from the _Seattle_ to Earth, she hadn't been able to stop second-guessing herself. Was this the right time for her to be President? Was she putting her career ahead of her family? Was it fair to move their kids so far away from everything they knew? To place them under the scrutiny that came with being the President's children?

"Calliope, look at me."

Callie was brought out of her thoughts by the soft sound of Arizona's voice and a gentle caress on her cheek.

"Sweetheart," Arizona began. "You need to stop second-guessing yourself. The kids will be _fine_. They will make new friends. They will discover new passions. And they will have so many wonderful opportunities."

Callie nodded. Arizona was right. She knew Arizona was right. She just…needed to stop thinking. But she couldn't.

"But what about you?" Callie blurted out in concern. "You haven't even figured out what you're going to do. Why—why won't you just be my chief of staff?"

"Callie, you worry about you, okay? I'll figure me out. And…and maybe I can be your chief of staff in a few years. But I'm just not ready to make a decision yet, okay? I've been talking with some of the admirals at Starfleet Command, and I have some options."

Callie raised an eyebrow and sat up slightly. Options? Her wife hadn't mentioned any options before. She also hadn't mentioned any discussions with Starfleet Command.

"What…what kind of options?"

Callie saw a flash of regret in Arizona's eyes before the blonde turned over and faced away from her again. "Nothing important, Callie," Arizona shrugged. "Let's just get some sleep. You've got a big day tomorrow."

Callie sat up further. "Arizona, no," she said reaching over in an attempt to make Arizona face her again. "What are you talking about? What options?"

Arizona let out a frustrated huff. "Look, I shouldn't have said anything. We can worry about it later."

"No," Callie argued, her voice more forceful. "We can worry about it now. What options?" Callie continued to stare at her wife until Arizona finally relented, turning her body to face Callie fully.

"I…I got a call from the Commander-in-Chief a few months ago, just after you were elected. She…she mentioned that she wanted to retire sometime in the next five years, so with me returning to Earth to be with you, she…" Arizona dropped eye contact and started playing nervously with the sheets. "Callie, she wants me to be Starfleet Chief of Staff, so that by the time she retires, I'm ready to take over for her."

Callie's eyes widened in surprise. How could Arizona keep something like this from her? "You mean, she wants you to be the next Commander-in-Chief of Starfleet?"

Arizona merely nodded in reply.

"Arizona!" Callie exclaimed excitedly. "That's amazing! Why haven't you said yes yet? Why didn't you say yes the second she asked you?!"

"Because, I…I don't know if I'm _going_ to say yes yet."

Callie's jaw dropped involuntarily. How in the world could her wife _not_ want to be the admiral overseeing _all_ of Starfleet? It was the Robbins's dream come true! Arizona's parents would be beyond ecstatic.

"Arizona," Callie said, trying to keep her voice calm. "Why would you say no?"

Arizona sighed deeply, still refusing to make eye contact with her wife. "Because I wanted to see how the first few months of your presidency would go."

"What?"

"I don't want to accept a new position, just to turn around and quit in a few months if you need me to."

"Arizona, no," Callie said, reaching for her wife, forcing her to look at her again. "I would never ask you to quit your job for me. Okay? I, I promised your parents—I promised _you_—that I would never ask you to sacrifice your career for mine."

"But Callie," Arizona argued. "Just because you'll never _ask_ me to quit doesn't mean that me quitting wouldn't be in the best interest of our family!"

"What?"

"Callie, what if, in a few months, you're going crazy with all of your presidential duties? Okay? What if there is just so much going on, and our kids are having a rough time adjusting, and you just need—our _family_ just needs—someone to take a step back to maintain everyone's sanity? Callie, this job—this presidency? It's the most important thing you'll ever do. And supporting you through it? That's the most important thing _I'll_ ever do. So if you need me to take a break from my career, if you need me to just be your _wife_, then I'll do it. I'm _happy_ to do it."

As Arizona spoke, Callie couldn't believe what she was hearing. She thought this had been settled. She thought this had all been settled years ago. "Arizona—" Callie growled in frustration. "I…I wish you would have told me all of this sooner. I never would have—"

"Why do you think I didn't want to talk about it tonight?" Arizona said, throwing her hands up in exasperation.

"This…this…" Callie stuttered. "No. No, we are not doing this. I'll—I'll call the Council and resign," she said, starting to rise from her bed. "I'll resign. That guy from Andoria can be president."

"You will do no such thing," Arizona said firmly, latching onto Callie's arm and stopping her from leaving the bed.

"Arizona, I will not let you sacrifice your career for me!" Callie yelled. "I just won't do it!"

"I'm not asking you to _let_ me!" Arizona said, raising her voice in return. "My career is _my_ decision. And my priorities are _my_ decision. You? Danny and Cait and JJ? You are my priorities. So if _I_ want to take a step back from my career to support those priorities, then that is _my_ choice. I am my own person, Calliope Torres. You do not _let_ me do anything."

"Oh, so you're saying that when I was asked to run for President, I should have just said yes without consulting you? Because hey, it's my career, so it's totally up to me, right?"

"No, Calliope—"

"How is this any different, Arizona?!" Callie exclaimed as Arizona just sighed and rolled her eyes. "How is this any different?"

"The difference is that you are _Callie Torres_."

Callie sat for a moment, just staring at her wife. "Okay, you've completely lost me."

Arizona exhaled sharply and leaned back against the headboard. "Callie, why can't you see how special you are? Why can't you see that you were _born_ to be President? That it's your _destiny_ to be President?"

Callie shrugged her shoulders. "Well I don't know how I feel about destiny and all that drama and crap, but I mean, yeah, I know that I'm talented. I think I'll do a good job." Callie really had no idea where her wife was going with this.

"Callie," Arizona shook her head. "You are the most talented person of our generation. Of the past several generations. You are going to do incredible things. You've already done so many incredible things."

"What does this have to do with anything?" Callie asked. One second they were fighting about major life decisions, and the next, her wife was complimenting her? What the hell?

"So I…I want to be there for you."

"Arizona, you can be there for me without sacrificing your career…"

"I know. But Callie? We're an amazing team. Okay? We have spent the past twenty years working side by side, and we're fantastic together. And I just…I love you. And yes, I'm talented. Yes, I'm a good leader. Okay? I had my turn at commanding the _Seattle_, and I did a good job of running the region. I know that. But…but my purpose…my…calling? Calliope, it's _you_. I don't mean to sound proud or conceited but…but you will be a better president with me than without me. And I was raised to stand up and serve the Federation the best I know how."

"How is turning down the job of Commander-in-Chief _serving the Federation_?" Callie asked incredulously.

Arizona sighed and slumped her shoulders, taking a moment to collect herself. "My parents raised me to be a Starfleet officer. And they raised me to rise as quickly as I could through the ranks, to achieve the highest position possible. So if I took the job, they would be…" Arizona shook her head, apparently unable to come up with the correct word. "They would just be blown away. They would literally die of happiness."

Callie chuckled at her wife's description. It was most likely true.

"But somewhere along the way," Arizona continued. "They forgot the point. Callie, I don't think that having the highest rank is necessarily the same thing as providing the most value. And Callie, nobody knows you better than I do. Nobody knows what you're capable of like I do. I know what kind of leader you can be. I know what kind of president you can be. Under your leadership, the Federation could go places we've only dreamed of."

"Arizona," Callie sighed, taking her wife's hand. It was so heartwarming to hear her wife speak about her in this way.

"I want to make sure that you live up to that potential," Arizona said. "And maybe it won't be hectic, and after a few months, I can call up Starfleet Command and take the job. Okay? That's still a possibility. But I want to be sure. Because…" Arizona trailed off and looked straight into Callie's eyes. Callie could tell that her wife was hesitant about saying this next part. "Because I'm part of you, Callie. You've been incredibly successful over the past two decades. And, I don't mean to sound proud, but…but a big part of that is _me_."

"Don't you think I know that?" Callie said quietly, searching the brilliant blue eyes that she loved. "Arizona, I wouldn't be here without you. I couldn't have done any of this without you."

"I know that," Arizona said with a smirk and a twinkle in her eyes. "And I also know that _you_ know that. But it's nice to hear you say it."

"I'm sorry if I don't thank you enough," Callie said gently, cupping Arizona's cheek. "I know it must have been hard for you, living in my shadow, watching me get all the credit, all the accolades."

Arizona smiled and just shook her head. "It hasn't been hard, Calliope. It's been my joy. I love you. And it's enough for me that _I_ know how much good I've done. You come up with the idea, you cast the vision, and then I bring your vision into being. It works well, Callie. We have different skill sets, different talents. We're the perfect team. And I wouldn't have it any other way."

Callie took a deep breath as Arizona's words filled her heart. She knew she'd never be able to express how much she loved Arizona. How much she'd grown to cherish and appreciate her wife over the years. How much she respected and admired Arizona's humility and work ethic. How she owed everything—her career, her children, her happiness—to the diminutive blonde sitting next to her in their bed.

"I would be lost without you, Arizona" Callie said resolutely.

Arizona just smiled. "Then you'll never be lost."

Callie smiled and leaned forward to kiss her wife, pushing Arizona down onto the bed, and placing her own weight on top of her. Arizona sighed in pleasure as Callie began to kiss her neck and massage her breasts.

"Calliope," Arizona whispered, pushing Callie away slightly.

"Hmm?" Callie questioned as she leaned back down and resumed her ministrations.

"You're not really going to resign, are you?"

"No," Callie said, leaning back to smile at her wife. "But…but I would still like to talk to you about _your_ career."

"Okay," Arizona nodded. "In a few months, we can sit down and really talk about it. Make a decision together?"

"Yeah," Callie said, running her hand through the hair near Arizona's forehead. "I love you so much, Arizona."

"I love you, too."

* * *

Arizona sighed in contentment as she turned to her side and wiggled her bottom so it was snug against Callie's front. Callie's hand immediately found its usual place on Arizona's hip. Over their nearly twenty years of lovemaking, the two women had learned each other's bodies perfectly. They never failed to leave each other completely sated and satisfied. But tonight had been…incredible. It had been just about the most emotionally charged sex they'd ever had.

Arizona smiled as she closed her eyes and burrowed more deeply into her pillows. Her life certainly hadn't turned out how she'd expected it to. How could she have known, when she was fourteen years old, that her hopeless celebrity crush would end up being the love of her life? How could she have known that her goal in life, her obsession with Starfleet, would fade into the background as she became consumed with love and passion for her wife and children? How could she have possibly expected to be the first lady of the Federation? She'd always assumed that she'd follow in her family's footsteps. She'd go to the academy, graduate with honors, obtain a good posting, work her way up, have sex with lots of hot women, and then retire. Looking back, the life she'd envisioned for herself had been so…small. Her parents' life was so small. Arizona's life—the life she hadn't been expecting—was big. Passionate. Joyful. Exciting. And it wasn't that way because of her many adventures with Starfleet. It was that way because of the incredible woman lying at her side.

"Arizona?" Callie's voice called out into the silence.

"Hmm?"

"You're wrong," Callie said. "What you said earlier? That being president is my destiny? You're wrong. It's not. You and our kids. That's why I exist. You're my destiny."

Arizona turned over in Callie's arms and placed a slow, emotion-filled kiss on her lips. Pulling back slightly, she stroked Callie's hair and looked lovingly into her eyes. "And you're mine, Calliope. You've always been my destiny. And you always will be."

* * *

**AN: Wow, uh, their nighttime conversation kinda got away from me lol. Sorry if that got too melodramatic and sappy for you! Lol that was pretty much as sappy as it gets, huh? Thanks for reading! I love writing stories in this setting :)**

**AN2: I totally stole "I would be lost without you" / "Then you'll never be lost" from Farscape. John and Aeryn, I may write fics about Calzona, but you'll always be my OTP of OTPs. And Aeryn, don't you worry when I'm crushing on Arizona. You'll always be my #1 girl crush. 3m.**


	6. Not the Best Night

**AN: I wrote this first scene a while ago, before I even knew Lauren Boswell existed lol. So don't you worry :P**

**Also, in case anyone reads this not right away—please don't spoil me for the next episode (5/9/13) until AFTER the entire season is over. I've decided not to watch the next two episodes until after the season is over. I just can't take the stress. And depending on what happens, I may have actually already seen my very last episode of Grey's Anatomy lol. But don't worry, the fanfic will live on! Fanfic is why I love Callie and Arizona anyways…**

* * *

**Not the Best Night**

**Summary: Callie and Arizona have their usual date night…and things quickly fall apart.**

* * *

Forty-two-year-old Admiral Calliope Torres sighed and allowed her shoulders to slump as she collapsed onto a bar stool at Joe's. It had been a long day, and an even longer month. The region of space surrounding the _Seattle_ had been growing so rapidly over the past few years that Starfleet had decided that the creation of a Region Commander position was warranted. Callie had been the obvious choice to fill the role, so she had graciously accepted the job, along with the promotion to Admiral.

Callie had only one stipulation before taking the job, and that was that Starfleet hand over command of the _Seattle_ to Arizona. The admirals at Starfleet Command and the Federation Council had raised no objections to Callie's request, readily agreeing with her that Arizona was the best person to take over command of the station. So approximately one month earlier, Captain Arizona Robbins had become the commanding officer of the most significant starbase in the Federation.

When Arizona had accepted the promotion to Captain, and—to everyone's surprise—appointed Commander Cristina Yang as first officer, Commander Preston Burke had requested reassignment. The man was apparently fed up with the lack of upward mobility on the station, and he'd accepted command of a ship exploring the Gamma Quadrant. Callie didn't blame him—he wasn't a particularly fun person to be around, but he was a good officer. He deserved more than the _Seattle_ could offer him.

Captain Arizona Robbins had also made some other unusual staffing choices. Apparently Counselor Owen Hunt had, in his free time, finished up Command School by correspondence. Arizona had made him tactical officer, and it hadn't escaped the notice of the other officers that he and Yang seemed to be quite fond of each other. And to replace Yang as security chief, Arizona had chosen Lt. Alex Karev. It was a curious choice—those who were familiar with the _Seattle_, including Callie, suspected a small amount of cronyism in Arizona's decision. But Callie supposed that if Arizona could work well with him, then Karev wasn't the worst security chief her wife could have chosen.

It had been a month since Arizona had taken command of the station, and things were going well. Callie doubted that anyone on the station or living in the colony below would have noticed a difference. The hard part had been getting their family to adjust. Callie's job as Region Commander didn't require an enormous amount of travel, but it did include some. In the past month, she'd taken three different trips, for a total of seven nights away from home. Both sets of grandparents, as well as Michael and Aria, were great about pitching in and helping with the children when Arizona was working and Callie was away, but it was still hard. The kids missed their mom. Callie missed them too. Not to mention that neither Callie nor Arizona loved spending a single night away from each other. Callie knew that it was an adjustment—it would just take time. And eventually she'd be able to travel less. Eventually things would settle down.

"I'll have a rum and coke, Joe," Callie smiled at the bartender when he finally had a chance to take her order.

"Oh here, let me get that."

Callie turned, surprised, to look at the stranger who had just offered to pay for her drink. Actually, "offer" wasn't the right word. The woman had thrust the money into Joe's hand and he'd walked away with it before Callie had had a chance to object.

And that woman was…quite a woman. Medium height, slender, with light brown hair and blue eyes. Her gorgeous breasts, butt, and legs were all deliciously on display in her tight-fitting dress. Callie felt her mouth go dry.

"Mind if I have a seat?" the woman said…as she sat down on the stool right next to Callie.

"Uh," Callie laughed. Wow, this woman was presumptuous. "Thank you, but I'm actually waiting for someone." Even with all the stress of their new jobs, Callie and Arizona were still very protective of date night. Nothing got in the way of date night. Callie had made sure to leave her office by five, get the kids all settled with Hailey, and make it to Joe's on time. Now she was just waiting for Arizona, who'd sent her a message that she'd just be a few minutes late—apparently someone had tried to smuggle some weapons on board.

"Oh, well that's a shame," the woman said, not looking at all deterred. "I'll just have to keep you company until they get here. I'm Natalie, by the way."

"Callie," the Admiral responded, politely shaking Natalie's proffered hand.

"So what are your plans for the evening, Callie?" Natalie asked, making no effort to hide the fact that she was blatantly checking Callie out.

"Um…I'm actually not sure," Callie with a slight laugh. She and Arizona hadn't gotten that far. She figured they'd grab dinner and drinks, maybe just take a walk around the station. They never really needed anything fancy to keep them occupied—they just relished the chance to spend a few hours alone with each other.

"Oh, well you should stop by the club," Natalie suggested with a smile, pointing to the strip club across the street. "I'm a waitress there and my shift starts in ten. I'd love to uh…take your order."

"I bet you would," came a slightly threatening, slightly amused voice from behind Callie. Callie smirked as she felt Arizona's arms wrap possessively around her shoulders.

"Hey baby," Callie said, lifting her head to look up at her wife.

"Hi," Arizona smiled sweetly, giving her a playful wink.

"Natalie," Callie said, turning back to face her new acquaintance. "This is Captain Arizona Robbins, commander of the station. Or, as I like to call her, Arizona Torres, my wife."

Natalie's face paled comically as she realized who she was hitting on, who she was talking to. Not just the station commander, but also her wife—the former station commander, the current region commander, and a living legend to boot.

"So um," Natalie said, abruptly standing from her stool and taking a few defensive steps back from the women. "I'll uh…I'll just be going to work then."

Callie snorted as the frightened brunette quickly scurried away. "You do that."

"Mmm," Arizona hummed, leaning in to place a tender kiss on Callie's lips as she took the stool that Natalie had been occupying. "You've still got it, baby."

Callie just laughed and rolled her eyes. It had been a while since she'd bet hit on by a random stranger. She found that she liked it.

"So can I get you a drink, sweetheart?" she asked.

"Hmm…I was wondering if we could just skip drinks and maybe do that holoprogram in Greece again?" Arizona suggested. "Honestly, all I wanna do is eat food and have sex."

Callie rolled her eyes as she gulped down the rest of her drink and stood from the stool. Arizona was adorable, but Callie really felt as if she was married to a teenager sometimes. "Alright, baby," she said, grabbing Arizona's hand and pulling her from the bar. "Let's go get you laid."

* * *

Arizona smiled, dimples popping, as she and Callie made their way back to their living quarters hand in hand. She couldn't remember the last time they'd had such a wonderful date—things had been hectic lately. But they'd gone for a romantic walk by the sea, eaten a delicious meal at an open air café, and then retired to their hotel room for some hot and dirty sex, followed, of course, by the mainstay of their relationship—slow, luxurious, tender-hearted lovemaking. Sure, Arizona loved a quick lay as much as anyone else, but she absolutely cherished the times when she and Callie could take it slow, and pour every ounce of their feelings into one another.

And it was only nine o'clock! They'd both decided to head home early, nothing sounding more fun than eating dessert in bed—both in the literal and in the more erotic sense. They'd recently soundproofed their bedroom, not wanting to scare JJ on the nights he got up for a glass of water, and Arizona was sure it was the best thing they'd ever done. The soundproofing was one-directional—they could still hear what was going on outside their room, and they left it off during the daytime. But at night, when they were being intimate? Arizona loved nothing more than engaging the system and enjoying the symphony of their love-making. Callie no longer felt the need to muffle herself, and Arizona was thoroughly appreciating being reacquainted with Callie's cries of ecstasy.

Arizona smiled to herself as they neared the entrance to their home. It was past the kids' bed times, which meant Hailey would have them fast asleep by now. So all she had to do was chat with her niece for a few minutes, send her on her way, and then get Callie naked. It would be the perfect end to the perfect night.

Except that when she and Callie entered their family's quarters, their eyes bulged out of their heads. Right there, right in front of them was their niece, lying on the couch underneath a young man, with their state of dress and the position of their bodies leaving no doubt as to what they were doing.

"Whoa!" Arizona exclaimed, quickly raising her hands to shield her eyes and turning away. She wasn't grossed out by the idea of heterosexual sex, but that didn't mean she particularly felt like witnessing it.

"Hailey!" Callie screeched at the same time.

The young man flew off Hailey with amusing speed, instantly pulling his pants up, while Hailey immediately cried out in horror, frantically trying to cover herself and quickly scanning the area for her missing garments.

"Get out!" Callie yelled at the boy. "Get the hell out of my quarters!"

The boy's eyes widened in terror at Callie's outburst, and Arizona couldn't blame him. There was rage steaming out of Callie's entire being. Arizona gulped; even she felt a little afraid of her wife.

"Are you deaf?!" Callie screamed at him when he just stood there. "Out! Now!" she yelled, picking up the boy's shirt, grabbing him by the arm, and unceremoniously throwing him out of the quarters.

"Auntie Callie!" Hailey protested as the door was sliding shut. She'd recovered her panties and was now in the process of getting her pants back on. "You can't just throw Spence out—"

"The hell I can't!" Callie raged, cutting her niece off.

Arizona looked cautiously from Callie to Hailey, not quite sure what to do. Yes, having sex on their couch when one of their children could walk in was clearly unacceptable. But Arizona knew that Callie was also angry for Hailey having sex, _period_. Callie's family was more conservative that way—Callie had told her that Aria and Michael had never been with anyone else, and hadn't even slept with each other until they were engaged.

But Arizona's family wasn't like that. When her father had walked in on her watching some vids when she was thirteen, he hadn't been angry, upset, or surprised. Instead he'd sat down, had a frank discussion with her about sex, and taken her to the doctor to get her injections the next day after school. It just hadn't been a big deal. Her parents had told her to be careful, and to always respect whoever she was with, and to feel free to come to them with any questions. But they'd otherwise left her free to explore and enjoy her awakening sexuality.

"But he's a nice guy!" Hailey argued.

"I don't give a damn if he's nice!" Callie yelled. "Have you even gotten your injections? You could get pregnant! Does your mother know about this?"

Hailey just rolled her eyes. "I'm not a moron, you know. Of course I've gotten my injections—I went to see Mark. And no, my mom doesn't know, and I'd _really_ appreciate you not telling her."

Callie loudly scoffed at the idea. "Oh right. Like there's a chance in hell that I'm not going to tell my sister that her _fourteen-year-old daughter is having_ _sex on my couch_!"

"Auntie Callie, please—" Hailey was starting to look scared.

"And what the hell were you thinking doing this when my kids could walk in and see you!" Callie screamed.

"Okay, Callie," Arizona stepped in, placing a calming hand on her wife's shoulder. Instead of settling down, Callie was growing more and more agitated by the second. If she hadn't already woken all three of their kids, Arizona was certain that she was about to. "Sweetheart, why don't you just take a minute and check in on the kids and make sure they _didn't_ see anything. I will uh…I will talk to Hailey."

Callie turned to face Arizona and Arizona could tell she was about to argue. "Callie, go. Now," she said quickly, leaving no room for argument in her voice. She leaned in to speak quietly to her wife so Hailey couldn't hear. "You're too upset to deal with this right now. Take a minute."

Callie still looked like she wanted to argue, but after looking at Arizona for a moment, she reluctantly nodded, sending one last glare in Hailey's direction before heading upstairs to their children's bedrooms. Arizona let out a relieved puff of air as soon as she was out of sight. Raging Callie was never fun.

"You okay?" Arizona asked her niece. Hailey just sighed and nodded, taking a seat on the couch. "So his name is Spencer?" Arizona asked gently, moving to sit next to her niece.

"Spence," Hailey nodded, not quite confident enough to look Arizona in the eye.

"How long have you two been dating?" Arizona asked. She knew that Hailey was about to be in a heaping amount of trouble with Michael and Aria—both for being an irresponsible babysitter and for having sex—so Arizona was trying to be as supportive as possible. Hailey had a terrible couple of days ahead of her.

"We're um…we're not really," Hailey shrugged. "Spence is just a friend. But we both wanted to know what it felt like so…"

"Hey, it's okay, honey," Arizona encouraged, reaching over to squeeze Hailey's hand.

"You're not mad at me?" Hailey said, blinking back some tears.

Arizona sighed thoughtfully. "Hailey," she said. "It was really bad judgment on your part to do this when you were babysitting. If Danny or Cait or JJ had seen you…well, that would not have been good. So yeah, I'm kinda furious with you about that," she said honestly. "And you did disobey your parents. But no, I'm not mad at you for being curious about sex."

"Yeah, but that's because you're cool about stuff like this," Hailey whined, earning a smirk from Arizona. "But my parents are gonna totally flip. Probably worse than Callie."

"Yeah," Arizona smiled sadly at her niece. "They are. You broke their rules, babe. And…they're your parents. You need to respect them."

"I know it's just—"

Both Arizona's and Hailey's heads popped up when Callie came running, clearly panicked, down the stairs.

"Where's JJ?" she asked Hailey, wide-eyed.

"Wha—what?" Hailey asked, clearly confused. "I put him to bed at eight, just like you said."

"Well he's not there!" Callie exclaimed.

Arizona immediately bolted up from the couch, running to check the other rooms on the main floor. Her heart was pounding. If JJ wasn't in his bedroom, then where was he? Kitchen? No. Dining room? No. Home office? No. Family room? No. Arizona had to stop and grab the wall to steady herself. If he wasn't upstairs, sound asleep like Danny and Cait, and he wasn't downstairs in the living areas…that meant he wasn't currently in their home. Arizona felt like she was about to lose her supper.

If one of her crewmembers went missing, finding them was simple. They all wore comm badges, which the computer could track. Arizona could pinpoint their location immediately. But kids didn't wear comm badges, and the Federation had regulations against imbedding tracking chips in children. And even if she overrode security protocols and had the computer identify a young boy's lifesigns—there were thousands of kids on board. There was…there was no easy way to find him.

"Callie!" Arizona cried, bursting back into the living room. She'd never been so scared in her life. But Callie was no longer in the living room—only Hailey remained. "Where—where'd she go?" Arizona stuttered.

"She left," Hailey said, looking sickly pale. "To go look for him. Arizona…I…I don't know what to say."

Arizona just blankly stared at Hailey. She didn't know what to say either. She'd never been so deeply disappointed in her niece, but she couldn't even deal with that right now. Her five-year-old wasn't tucked away safely in his bed. He was somewhere on the station. Somewhere on a station with 50,000 other people.

* * *

Callie walked frantically through the busy Promenade, eyes peeled for her youngest son. She'd called Arizona a few minutes after she'd left to have Arizona make some other calls, but her wife had already been on top of it. JJ wasn't with Michael and Aria, he wasn't with Carlos and Lucia, and he wasn't with Daniel and Barbara. Arizona had also put in a call to Karev to get Starfleet personnel to start combing the station.

Arizona had told Callie that she was going to leave Hailey with Danny and Cait so she could look for JJ too, but Callie had expressly forbidden her from doing so. There was no way in hell she was leaving Hailey alone with her kids again. Callie was going to kill her niece. She'd had sex way too young, she'd done it when Callie's kids could have walked in, and she'd lost JJ. Callie had never been so furious and terrified.

Callie hit her comm badge the instant it chirped. "Torres."

"I just called all of JJ's friends," Arizona's voice came over the comms. "He's not with any of them." Callie closed her eyes and exhaled in frustration. Arizona sounded exactly how Callie felt—devastated and out of her mind with worry.

"Okay, thank you," Callie said quickly, hitting her badge again before turning into JJ's favorite toy store. She quickly glanced down every aisle, praying each time that _that_ aisle would be the one that contained her little boy. But he wasn't in the toy store. He wasn't anywhere.

Callie had already been to most of JJ's favorite places—his favorite stores, his favorite restaurants, his favorite parks. There was really only one other place he ever wanted to go, but Callie didn't think he'd be there. The docks. But you couldn't just walk into them. They had security precautions. Surely JJ couldn't have slipped in?

But Callie didn't have a choice. Aside from him being lost and simply wandering around, the docks were the only logical place for JJ to be. So after one last glance around the toy store, she turned toward the turbolifts that would take her to the docks.

* * *

Callie sat on a bench in the docks, shaking and miserable. She'd just combed the corridors of the entire docking level, checked all the observation decks where JJ could sit for hours, watching the ships come in and out of the station. But he wasn't there. He wasn't watching the merchant ships. He wasn't watching the Starfleet patrols. She didn't know _where_ he was.

She'd been trying to stop her mind from thinking the worst, telling herself over and over again that JJ was fine. But after running around the station for the past hour, checking everywhere that he could possibly be, Callie's thoughts were quickly turning darker.

There were thousands of people on board. Many of them were members of other species—and not all of those species were on friendly terms with the Federation. There were Scarrans on board. Klingons and Romulans and Cardassians.

And she and Arizona were high-profile people. She was the region commander. Arizona was the station commander. There were plenty of people in the galaxy who had a reason to hurt them, to hurt the Federation. If one of them had taken JJ, and was planning on using him to blackmail the Federation, what would she do? And even if he hadn't been taken for political reasons…there could be sexual predators on board. Kidnappers, slavers.

The thought just made Callie feel sick and dead inside. She didn't think there could possibly be a worse feeling than seeing Arizona lying dead and bloodied on an operating table. She'd thought that had been the most extreme terror and despair she'd ever feel in her life. But she'd been wrong. This was worse. This was so much worse. Being in love with a woman was scary, but being a mother was petrifying on an entirely different level.

"Torres," Callie said weakly when her comm badge chirped.

"Callie?" Arizona's voice came over the channel, and Callie was caught off guard by the hope in her voice. "Callie, Lexie just called. There was an unauthorized launch from a docking bay, and it's being tractored back in right now. Callie," Arizona's voice broke. "Callie, it's your stunt fighter. And the lifesigns inside show a male human child."

Callie just closed her eyes and breathed for a moment, her pulse slowly returning to normal. JJ had tried to take her ship out for a ride. There was no other explanation. He was safe.

"Callie?" Arizona repeated after a few seconds. "Did you hear me?"

"Yeah," Callie said, trying to hold herself together. The relief spreading throughout her entire being was threatening to come out in a series of loud sobs. "Yeah, yeah I heard you, Arizona. I'll um, I'll go get him."

Ending the call with her wife, Callie quickly ran down the corridor that led to the shuttle bay where her personal fighter was kept. She shook her head as she waited for atmosphere to be restored. How did JJ get in there? He must have watched Callie unlocking the bay, must have memorized the passcode.

"JJ?" she yelled as she burst into the bay the second it was safe. She didn't know why she bothered calling to him—the fighter was sealed and he wouldn't be able to hear anything outside of it. So she waited impatiently as the docking bay automatically landed her fighter back in its spot beside a few other ships and she frantically tapped her foot, wishing JJ would open the damned cockpit already.

When the ship had finished landing, and JJ still hadn't opened the cockpit, Callie hastily approached the ship and stared at him, raising her eyebrows and giving him a look that said "get your butt out of that ship this instant."

He didn't look any worse for wear, maybe a little scared and shaken up, but otherwise fine. He looked at her with his dark blue eyes and gave her a confused shrug, letting her know that he didn't know what to do.

"Computer," Callie snapped. "Can you open a channel to my fighter?"

"Channel open."

"JJ," Callie said sternly. "You open this cockpit _right now_."

"I don't know how, Mommy," came his apologetic response.

Callie just groaned. "Computer, can you use my command override to open the freaking cockpit?"

"Affirmative."

"Do it."

The cockpit immediately opened, and JJ instinctively shrunk into his seat, quickly picking up on the fact that his mother was _not_ pleased.

"Get out here," Callie snarled, forcefully pointing her finger at the floor in front of her.

JJ's eyes widened in fear, but he knew better than to question Callie when was she was mad. Hanging his head, he stood up in the cockpit and accepted his mother's help down from the ship.

"JJ," Callie cried, dropping to her knees and wrapping her son in the fiercest hug she'd ever given him. She felt so torn as to what to do. She was so, so very angry with him. But also so relieved. And so scared. How did she make it clear to him that this could never, not ever, happen again? "Oh, JJ," she said, weaving her hand through his shaggy brown hair. She thought it was time for a haircut, but Arizona had insisted that he looked "adorable" with longer hair.

"Are you okay, Mommy?" her son asked quietly. "Why are you crying?"

"Cuz you scared me, baby," Callie said, releasing her son so she could look at him. "We didn't know where you were."

"I was fine, Mom," JJ smiled. "I knew where I was the whole time."

"But JJ," Callie sighed. "What have your mama and I told you about walking around the station by yourself?"

"Oh," JJ said, slumping his shoulders and looking at the floor. "That I'm not allowed to do that."

"Right," Callie nodded, leading him over to a nearby bench and crouching in front of him. "JJ, it's dangerous to go out without a grown-up with you. Something could have happened to you, sweetheart."

"But Mom, I was fine," JJ replied. "I know the way to the docks. And I know the way home, too."

Callie sighed in frustration. "JJ," Callie said, trying to keep calm. Blowing up at Hailey was one thing—Hailey was fourteen and made conscious decisions. But JJ was five. "JJ," she repeated, placing a hand on both of his knees. "You disobeyed your mama and me."

"I'm sorry," he shrugged noncommittally. "No dessert this week?"

Callie started chewing on her tongue. He clearly didn't understand the gravity of what he'd done—what could have happened. And she didn't think that Arizona's go-to punishment—a short lecture and a few missed cookies—was going to change that. Callie knew _exactly_ what her parents or her sister would do in this situation, and it was her first instinct as well. But she'd promised Arizona that she wouldn't spank their children. Arizona had been adamant about it. But Callie felt conflicted. It was for his own good. It would help him remember, help him know that what he had done was _not_ acceptable. It would keep him safe. Keep something like this from happening again.

"JJ," Callie said quietly, her resolve kicking in. She knew she'd be in trouble with Arizona, but she didn't care. She couldn't take any chances with this. This was not the same as JJ hitting Caitlin or sassing back at his moms or refusing to clean his room. If his punishments didn't sink in and he repeated those actions, it wasn't the end of the world. But if he did _this_ again? It could very well be the end of the world. It could be the end of his life. It could be the last they'd ever see of him. None of them would ever recover.

"Come here," Callie sighed, pulling her son into her lap. How did she explain this to a five-year-old? "Sweetheart, what you did tonight isn't okay. I know you felt safe, but JJ, you weren't safe. There are people out there…there are people out there who could hurt you."

"What do you mean?" JJ asked, his innocent eyes looking up at his mom.

"JJ…" Callie paused. She didn't know how to explain kidnapping and ransoms and slavers and pedophiles to her little baby boy. As far as JJ was concerned, the entire world was his friend. Adults were just nice people who told him funny stories and snuggled him and brought him toys and candy. "Honey…there are…there are bad people out there. Who would do bad things to you and take you away from your mama and me."

"There are?"

"There are," she nodded sadly. "Which is why it's important that you always have a grown-up that you trust with you. So they can keep you safe."

"Okay," JJ said quietly.

"JJ, do you feel like your mama and I make up rules to keep you from having fun?"

JJ just looked at her. Callie had the feeling that his answer to that question was "yes," but that he also knew better than to say that. He was a smart kid.

"JJ, we have rules so that you're safe and healthy and so you grow up right. We want you to have lots of fun. We want you to be so, so happy. But honey, we also need you to be safe."

"I said I was sorry," JJ huffed, clearly wanting to be done with this discussion. "No dessert for _two_ weeks?"

"Sweetheart, do you know what a spanking is?" Callie asked softly.

JJ's eyes widened at the word and he nodded numbly. Callie could feel his body tensing as he sat in her lap.

"Where'd you hear about it?" Callie asked. She wanted to make sure JJ understood why this was about to happen.

"Auntie Aria spanked Phoenix once when I was over there," he said quietly, nestling into Callie's chest. "Please don't spank me, Mommy, I promise I'll be good."

"JJ," Callie said, placing a soft kiss on his forehead and running a hand through his hair again. "I'm gonna spank you because you need to learn not to go out by yourself _ever_ again. It's dangerous, baby."

"Is it gonna hurt?" JJ asked, tears pooling in his eyes.

"Yeah, sweetie, it's gonna hurt," Callie nodded sadly. "But you know that I love you, right?"

"Uh huh."

"And I know that you don't want me to. JJ, _I_ don't _want_ to. But JJ, you can't do this again, and I need you to remember and learn that."

"Okay," JJ whimpered.

"Okay," Callie sighed, hugging her son once more before repositioning him on her lap and pulling his pants down.

* * *

"JJ!" Arizona couldn't help but let the tears stream down her face as her son and wife arrived back in their quarters. She rushed towards the door and quickly scooped her boy into her arms. He was getting much too big for this, really, but she didn't care. She'd been out of her mind with worry, and nothing would fix that except holding him tightly. "Oh sweetheart, are you okay?"

"Uh huh," JJ nodded, hugging her back as best he could.

"Jackson James Robbins Torres," she said, setting him back on the ground and looking straight in his eyes. "Don't you ever do anything like this ever again. Do you understand me?"

When Lexie had called to tell her that they'd found JJ, Arizona had been incredibly relieved. But as she waited for Callie to return with their son—which took a little longer than Arizona had been expecting—that relief had quickly turned to anger. They'd told their kids over and over again that they couldn't go out without an adult. And JJ's disobedience could have had unbearable consequences.

"Yeah," JJ nodded quickly, not meeting Arizona's eyes.

"Oh honey," Arizona said, quickly drawing JJ back into a hug. She hadn't talked with Callie yet, so she had no idea what had really happened. But JJ looked terrified, and it made her heart hurt. "It's okay, sweetheart, you're safe," she said, rubbing his back gently. "But you're also in _big_ trouble."

"I know," he mumbled.

"Okay buddy," Arizona sighed, smiling sadly at her son. "Go get ready for bed. I need to talk with your mom for a few minutes, but then I'll be up to tuck you in, okay?"

"Okay," he nodded, before quickly scampering up the stairs. He was acting rather unusual—rather withdrawn, but Arizona figured he was just a little rattled.

Blowing out a long breath of air—it had been one hell of a stressful evening—Arizona stepped over to Callie and collapsed into her arms.

"Oh Calliope," Arizona breathed out, happy when Callie held onto her tightly. "He's okay. Callie, he's okay."

"Yeah," Callie replied, placing a kiss on Arizona's neck. "I love you, Arizona."

"Mmm, I love you, too," Arizona smiled. "Callie," she said after a few moments. "I don't…I don't know what I would have done if…if…"

"Me either," Callie murmured.

"Is your fighter okay?" Arizona asked, pulling away a little bit and dabbing at her eyes.

"Yeah, it's fine."

"And did he see…anything on his way out of here?" Arizona asked. She'd already sent Hailey home, but she hadn't told Michael and Aria the exact reason _why_ Hailey hadn't noticed JJ leaving their home.

"Oh," Callie said, shaking her head. "I didn't even…I totally forgot about that, Arizona. I have no idea."

"Okay," Arizona nodded. "I'll ask him. And we can talk with him about his punishment in the morning." She gave Callie's shoulder a quick squeeze and then turned to head up the stairs to tuck JJ into his bed. And then lock the door to his bedroom and never let him out of it until he was forty-five.

"Arizona, wait," Callie called from behind her.

"Hmm?" Arizona said, glancing over her shoulder. Callie looked…guilty.

"I uh…I already punished him."

"Oh," Arizona blinked. For little things, they just punished their children on the spot. But when it was a bigger deal, they usually consulted with one another. She felt a little miffed that Callie had punished JJ without her input, but she decided not to make a big deal of it. "What um…what did you tell him? No dessert or no new toys or…?"

"I spanked him, Arizona," Callie said simply.

Arizona felt her entire body tensing immediately, and she had to grab onto the couch for support. They…they had had this discussion. Callie knew how she felt about this. Callie had promised her.

"What?" Arizona said, her voice deathly calm.

"I spanked him," Callie repeated.

"Callie," Arizona said, struggling not to spontaneously combust all over their living room. "You explicitly promised me that—"

"I know," Callie interrupted. "I know. But he didn't get it. He didn't think what he had done was a big deal, and he didn't get it, and I just…Arizona I just can't have this happen ever again. He needed to learn. He needs to remember."

"Callie," Arizona grumbled. "It's been a while since I had a science class, but I'm pretty sure that smacking someone's butt doesn't enhance their memory function."

"Arizona…"

"You _promised me_," Arizona hissed. "You promised."

"Arizona, someone could have taken him!" Callie said, her voice shaky and raising in volume. "Someone could have taken him and raped him and, and, demanded something horrible from the Federation in exchange for returning him!"

"Don't you think I know that?" Arizona responded, her volume increasing to match her wife's. "Don't you think I had all sorts of horrible thoughts running through my head? But that…that doesn't justify hitting our _child_."

"It's not hitting, it's spanking!"

"It's the same thing, Callie!" Arizona was yelling now. "You _hit_ our _son_ because you were scared!"

"Oh, what, so…so I'm a child abuser now?" Callie argued back.

"Callie…." Arizona clenched her jaw. Her hands were balled into fists and her entire body was shaking with anger.

"And I guess that makes my parents child abusers, too, huh? And Michael and Aria? My whole family, we're just a bunch of people who beat up little kids."

"Callie, I didn't say that—"

"Well then what are you saying?"

"That what you did was _wrong_!" Arizona yelled. "There is no excuse for it. And I try really hard not to judge your family, Callie. And you know I love them. But I _hate_ that they have this…this culture where it's okay to hit children and to…to repress someone's sexuality."

"What?" Callie asked incredulously. "What the hell are you talking about, repressed sexuality?"

"I'm talking about Hailey!"

"Arizona! She's _fourteen_! It's ridiculous for her to be having sex when she's fourteen! I mean, were you having sex when you were fourteen?"

Arizona just looked at her wife. Had Callie met her? Of course she'd been having sex when she was fourteen.

"You had sex when you were fourteen?!" Callie yelled.

"Yes!" Arizona said. "And there's nothing _wrong_ with that! And, and instead of shaming me, my parents were supportive and helped me understand."

"Oh, well that worked out really well for them," Callie scoffed. "I'm sure that Daniel and Barbara are _super_ proud that every single vagina in the Alpha Quadrant has had one—or both—of their slutty children inside of it."

Arizona's eyes widened and Callie's jaw dropped open, neither of them able to believe that Callie had just said that. That Callie had just called Arizona a slut. That Callie had just said that about Arizona's dead brother.

"Arizona," Callie said, stepping forward, her voice fully of apology.

"Don't you dare," Arizona snarled, stepping back and raising a finger to halt her wife. "Don't you dare touch me, Callie."

"Arizona, I didn't mean—"

"Get out," Arizona said quietly.

"Wha—"

"Get out. If you're so enamored with your family's views on discipline and sexuality, then I'm sure one of them wouldn't mind putting you up for the night."

"Arizona—"

"Get. Out." Arizona looked at her wife, her blue eyes turned to ice.

After one look in those eyes, Callie put her hands up in defeat, sending Arizona one last apologetic look before quietly leaving the quarters. As soon as she was gone, Arizona collapsed on the couch, sighing loudly as she leaned her head back on the headrest.

_Dammit._

* * *

"JJ?" Arizona said, poking her head in his room. "You ready for me?"

JJ nodded. He was all dressed in his favorite pajamas, and was sitting quietly in his bed. Arizona smiled at him softly before lying down next to him.

"Your mom told me about your spanking," she said quietly. "Are you okay?"

JJ nodded again.

"Are you in any pain? Do you need some medicine?" Arizona doubted that Callie would have hit him _that_ hard, but Arizona had also never had a spanking. She didn't know what they were like.

"I'm okay, Mama," JJ mumbled.

"Okay," Arizona nodded. "Can I see your bottom, baby?"

"Why?"

"Just to make sure you're okay, sweetheart." Arizona knew she was probably overreacting—kids had been spanked for millennia and turned out just fine. But she was rattled, and she needed to make sure JJ was fine.

"Okay," JJ mumbled, turning onto his stomach and pulling his shorts down a little. His skin was slightly pink, making Arizona's heart hurt a little bit. But he was fine.

"Honey, I replicated some baby lotion," Arizona said, holding up the bottle. "Can I put some on for you?"

"But I'm not a baby."

"I know," Arizona said, laughing just a little bit. "But it'll make your skin feel better."

"Can I put it on myself?" JJ asked quietly.

"Of course," Arizona nodded, handing him the bottle. She had to keep reminding herself that her kids were getting older. It hadn't been long ago that Callie and she had had to remind them to put clothes on instead of running around the house naked. But now they were more private.

"Thanks, Mama," JJ said sweetly after a few seconds, handing her back the bottle.

"You think you can sleep now?"

"Uh huh," he responded, laying down and settling under the covers.

"Okay, baby," Arizona smiled, leaning in to give him a hug and a kiss on the forehead. "I love you, Jackson James."

"I love you, too."

"And you know that your mom loves you, too right?" Arizona asked. She was furious with Callie—absolutely steaming mad. But she also knew that Callie loved their children fiercely. Arizona would never doubt that, and she didn't want the kids to doubt that either.

"Yeah, I know."

"And she only spanked you because she thought it was the right thing to do for you." Arizona didn't know how she'd ever forgive Callie for it—and she was still horrified that her wife had hit her precious baby boy's precious little bottom. But she did know that Callie hadn't done it maliciously.

"I know, mama," JJ repeated. "She told me."

"Okay," Arizona nodded, kissing him one more time before heading for the door. "Sleep tight. Oh," she whirled around, having almost forgotten. "When you left the house, what was Hailey doing?"

"She was kissing a boy on the couch," JJ replied sleepily, burrowing into his pillow.

"Did she uh…did she have her clothes on?"

"Yes…" JJ stared at her like she was crazy.

"Okay," Arizona smiled, glad that JJ had sneaked out before things had gotten too heated between Hailey and Spence. "Night babe."

* * *

"Mama?"

Arizona popped one eye open and groaned. She felt like she'd just fallen asleep. "Caitlin…" she sighed. "I'm sleeping."

"Mama," Calliope's mini-me repeated, sliding into bed with Arizona uninvited. "Where's Mommy?"

"Caitlin, what have we said about sleeping in your own bed?"

"That I hafta do it."

"So why aren't you doing it?"

"Cuz I can't sleep."

Arizona sighed and turned onto her back, rubbing her face and temples. "Why can't you sleep, baby girl?"

"Cuz Mommy's gone."

"Cait, she's been gone three times this month and you haven't had any problems." Arizona was really _not_ in the mood for this. The night had started out great. But then JJ had gone missing, and then Callie had spanked him, and then Callie and she had fought and Callie had called her a slut and…and Arizona really just wanted to sleep.

"Are you getting a divorce?"

"What?" Arizona choked, immediately sitting up and staring at the little girl who had nestled into her side. "Caitlin, why would you ask such a thing?"

"I heard you fighting…"

"Oh honey," Arizona sighed, reaching out to stroke her daughter's hair. "Just because we had a fight doesn't mean we're getting a divorce. Your mommy and I love each other very much."

"But…but Ashley's parents fought and then her daddy stopped sleeping at home and..and…"

"Caitlin," Arizona shook her head, cutting her daughter off. Ashley was one of her best friends, and her parents had just been through an incredibly messy divorce. "Your mommy and I are not Ashley's parents. We are not getting a divorce, I promise."

"But then why isn't she here?"

Arizona blew out a puff of air. "Honey…you know how when you fight with Danny or JJ, you don't want to be around them for a while?"

"Yeah."

"Well your mommy and I just needed…a little time to cool off. That's all."

"You're sure?"

"Yes, Caitlin," Arizona nodded, giving her daughter a gentle squeeze. "I'm sure."

"Cuz I don't wanna be taken away from Mommy and Danny and JJ."

"Honey, what?" Arizona said. "Why would you be taken—"

"Cuz I heard Ashley's parents fighting, and her mom said that because she had carried Ashley, she got to keep her."

Arizona felt her heart dropping into her stomach. "No, no, Caitlin, no. Nobody is gonna take you away from your mommy."

"But I know that I was inside you and the boys were inside mommy and—"

"Caitlin, you belong to your mommy just as much as you belong to me. Who gave birth to you has nothing to do with _anything_." Arizona's heart was racing. Sure, the kids knew that Callie had carried Danny and JJ while Arizona had carried Caitlin. But they'd never made a big deal of it. They'd never given the kids any reason to think that it meant that one of their mother's was their _real_ mom. "Sweetie, I don't love you more than the boys, and your mom doesn't love the boys more than you. We love you equally. Okay? And baby, I promise—your mom and I are _fine_. We just had a fight. Neither of us is going anywhere."

"You promise?" Caitlin asked quietly.

"I promise," Arizona said, lying back down and pulling her daughter closer. "We're a family. We love each other. And that means we stick together no matter what."

"Okay," Caitlin murmured. "Mama?" she asked after a few moments.

"Hmm?"

"Can I sleep with you tonight?"

Arizona sighed, resigned to the fact that her daughter's sense of security was more important than teaching her to respect the privacy of their bedroom. "Yeah baby. But just tonight."

* * *

"Hey," Callie said sheepishly as she stepped into her old office. It had been a month since it had stopped being hers, but it was still weird. Weird to see Arizona sitting behind her old desk, her neck proudly adorned with the four pips of a Captain.

"Hey," Arizona responded coldly, briefly glancing up from the PADD on her desk before looking back down. "So has Hailey been excommunicated from the family for possessing a sex drive before turning thirty?"

Callie didn't respond to that and sat down in one of the chairs facing the desk, choosing to ignore Arizona's baiting. She actually didn't know. And if Arizona hadn't told Aria about it, then she doubted that Aria even knew. Callie hadn't wanted to answer any questions from her nosy family, so she'd chosen to sleep on the couch in her new office.

"Speaking of Hailey," Callie said quietly. "Did JJ see anything?"

"No."

"Okay," Callie nodded. "Good." She sat for a few minutes, willing Arizona to look at her. But her wife kept staring at the documents on her desk.

And Callie couldn't really blame her. Callie still felt that spanking JJ had been the right thing for him. But it had been the wrong thing for her. They'd talked about it the first time that Danny had really blatantly, intentionally disobeyed them. Really talked about. And even though Callie didn't agree that spanking was the end of the world that Arizona apparently thought it was, Callie had agreed not to spank their children. She'd promised her wife that she'd never do it. And the night before, she'd broken that promise.

And then she'd proceeded to really step in it by calling Arizona a slut. By calling Tim a slut. Tim, who had died heroically saving the life of another Starfleet officer. She didn't know which was worse—insulting her wife, or insulting the memory of her brother. And yeah, Arizona's past bothered Callie at times. Arizona hadn't explained it to her in _detail_, but Callie presumed that her wife had had, well…a _lot_ of sexual partners. And it bugged her. It bugged her to know that there were probably numerous women on the station that had intimate knowledge of her wife. But it didn't justify her calling Arizona a slut. Arizona was faithful. A great mom, and a great wife. She didn't deserve to be disrespected so severely.

"Arizona," Callie spoke finally. "I'm sorry that I called you a slut."

"Well," Arizona said, tossing one PADD to the side and picking up another. "You're the one that married the slut."

"You're not a slut."

"No, I kinda am," Arizona said, her voice full of agitation. She still refused to look up from her desk.

"Arizona…"

"No, Callie, you're right," Arizona said, typing something into the PADD a little too forcefully. "I have slept with quite a few women, and I got an early start to boot. I think I meet the definition of a slut."

"Arizona…"

"Do you know that you're the first monogamous relationship I've ever been in?" Arizona asked, finally looking up.

Callie raised her eyebrows. She hadn't known that.

"I mean, yeah, I had other girlfriends. But I always told them that monogamy was off the table, because that just wasn't me. And that if they weren't okay with that, then I'd just find somebody else."

"Arizona…"

"But you were worth finally putting a stop to that. Because you're special. And…and I thought that you were okay with my past. That you didn't judge me for it. But I guess I was wrong."

"Arizona, I'm sorry," Callie said. "I'm sorry. I was angry, and I felt like you were attacking my family, and it just came out. And I'm sorry I dragged your brother into it. I'm just…I'm just sorry. I love you. And, yeah, I don't like thinking about you having sex with other people. Okay? It makes me crazy. But you've never tried to hide your past from me, and I promise, I don't judge you. I don't think you're a slut."

"Just a reformed slut," Arizona said, a smile tugging at the corner of her mouth.

Callie gave her wife a chastising look.

Arizona leaned back in her chair and exhaled sharply. "I _hate_ fighting with you, Callie."

"I do, too," Callie responded simply.

"Caitlin asked me if we were getting a divorce."

"What?!" Callie felt her heart sinking.

"She heard us, and then when she figured out you weren't sleeping at home, she got worried."

"I'm sorry you had to deal with that. Is she okay?"

Arizona nodded. "She's fine."

"Did Danny wake up?"

"No," Arizona smiled wryly. "At least one of our kids is a sound sleeper."

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure he can sleep through anything," Callie smiled, happy to see that it looked like Arizona was starting to stop shutting her out. "Arizona," Callie said after a few moments. "I'm sorry about JJ."

Arizona immediately stopped smiling and looked back at her desk. "Are you, though?" she asked quietly. "I feel like…I feel like you still think it was the right thing to do."

Callie sighed. "I do think it was the right thing. I, I think it'll go a long way in making sure we never have to feel as terrified and helpless as we did last night. But it was also the wrong thing. Because I promised you that I would never do it."

"Callie," Arizona said, shaking her head. "I know you don't understand why I'm so against it, but…"

"I don't have to understand, Arizona. I made a promise, and I broke it. And I'm sorry. It won't happen again."

Arizona nodded softly. "You promise not to hit one of them?"

"I promise."

"And if something…if something major happens again?"

"I will talk to you first. It was wrong of me to cut you out of the decision."

Arizona nodded again.

"Will you forgive me, Arizona?" Callie asked.

Arizona's eyes immediately snapped up to Callie's. "Of course, I'll forgive you, Callie."

"Thank you."

"And you'll come home tonight?"

"If you want me to."

"I want you to."

"Then I will."

* * *

Callie shifted slightly in her sleep when she felt Arizona pressing snuggly against her back.

But then her brow furrowed. She was the outer spoon that night, and Arizona was still sleeping safely in her arms, which meant…

"Caitlin…" she growled.

"Hi Mommy," the little girl whispered from behind her.

"Why aren't you in your bed?" This was getting ridiculous. It felt as though Caitlin showed up in their bed at least twice a week.

"Because I was lonely."

"You wouldn't be lonely if you were asleep," Callie yawned. She lay quietly for a few moments, hoping that Caitlin would take the hint and leave. But of course, she didn't. She was just going through a particularly clingy stage. Groaning, Callie released her wife and turned around to face her daughter. Caitlin smiled at her sweetly and waved. "Cait," Callie said gently. "You have to sleep in your own bed."

"Whyyyy?" Caitlin whined.

"What have your mama and I told you?"

"That your bedroom is private and just for the two of you," Caitlin pouted. Callie had to stop herself from smiling. Caitlin definitely favored Callie in her appearance, but that pout was _all_ Arizona.

"That's right," Callie nodded after regaining her composure. "Sooo…."Callie said, inclining her head towards the door.

"Can't I stay here with you? Just for tonight?"

"Caitlin, your mama already let you stay in here last night." Callie still felt guilty about that. She still felt awful that her fight with Arizona had frightened their daughter. But after dinner that night, the five of them had played some board games and gotten some quality family time. And then Callie and Arizona had tucked all three of the kids in. Daniel was completely oblivious to the whole thing—not knowing that anything was amiss. But they'd spent extra time with Caitlin, explaining that nothing in the galaxy would make them stop loving her—or stop loving each other. And then they'd tucked in JJ, who was doing just fine, the events of the previous night already out of his head.

"But I wanna stay again…"

"Caitlin," Callie repeated, trying to keep her voice calm and quiet. "You need to sleep in your own bed."

"But I—"

"Caitlin Aria," Arizona's voice called out from behind Callie, "get your butt into bed this instant."

Caitlin's eyes widened and she immediately hopped off the bed. "Night mommies," she said quickly, before scurrying out of the room.

"How do you do that?" Callie asked, turning over and resuming her previous position, snuggling up to her wife's delicious backside.

"I had two Admirals for parents, Callie," Arizona murmured sleepily.

"Right," Callie yawned, wrapping her arms around Arizona's middle. "I love you, Arizona."

"Mmm, love you too."

* * *

**AN: Hope you guys liked it! Question to you, my lovely readers: how did you like "Destiny"? (The one where they travel back to Earth so Callie can be president). I'm thinking of continuing it…maybe making it its own story. But I'm not a political expert. It's been a while since I've seen DS9 and I'm not an obsessive West Wing fan (even though it's great). So it would be mostly about Callie and Arizona's lives back on earth, with their kids as teenagers, etc. Would that be fun? Let me know. It'll be a while regardless—Once Upon a Calzona is my main priority at the moment.**


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